Annual inflation in the euro area is expected to be 8.6% in June, up from 8.1% in May, according to a flash estimate published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Friday 1 July.
Price inflation was highest in Estonia (22.0%), Lithuania (20.5%) and Latvia (19.0%), and lowest in Malta (6.1%) and France (6.5%). It was 8.2% in Germany, 8.5% in Italy and 10.0% in Spain.
Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in June (41.9%, compared with 39.1% in May), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (8.9%, compared with 7.5% in May), industrial goods excluding energy (4.3%, compared with 4.2% in May) and services (3.4%, compared with 3.5% in May).
At its Governing Council meeting on Thursday 21 April, the ECB will raise its key interest rates by 0.25%, the first step in the normalisation of its monetary policy, with a view to fulfilling its mandate to maintain price stability at 2% over the medium term (see EUROPE 12968/1).
Unemployment. In May, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the euro area was 6.6%, down from 6.7% in April. At EU level, it was 6.1%, stable compared to the rate recorded the previous month.
According to Eurostat, about 13 million men and women were unemployed in the EU, 11 million of whom lived in the euro area. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)