- CPI +3.2% vs +3.2% y/y prelim
- Prior +3.0%
- Core CPI +2.6% vs +2.5% y/y prelim
- Prior +2.2%
Euro area headline annual inflation is confirmed at 3.2% in May, nudging up from the 3.0% estimate in April. That marks the highest reading since September 2023, with higher energy prices being the main culprit. Of note, energy price inflation was up 10.8% year-on-year on the month – matching the April estimate.
Meanwhile, the key sticking point remains services inflation. And that is what contributed to the push up in core prices as well. Services inflation was seen at 3.5% in May, up from 3.0% in April.
In contrast, food price inflation fell slightly to 1.9% in May – down from 2.4% in April.
But at the balance, that still leads to a higher core annual inflation estimate (one that is revised higher in fact) of 2.6% – the highest since April last year.
As such, stagflation woes continue to grow for the ECB ahead of the summer.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
