31/05/2022 (Agence Europe) – Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 8.1% in May, up from 7.4% in April, according to a flash estimate published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Tuesday 31 May. Inflation was highest in Estonia (20.1%) and Lithuania (18.5%), and lowest in Malta (5.6%) and France (5.8%). It reached 7.3% in Italy, 8.5% in Spain and 8.7% in Germany. Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in May (39.2%, compared with 37.5% in April), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (7.5%, compared with 6.3% in April), industrial goods excluding energy (4.2%, compared with 3.8% in April) and services (3.5%, compared with 3.3% in April). (MB)