19/04/2023 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate in the euro area was 6.9% in March, down from 8.5% in February, according to figures published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday, 19 April. In the EU, this rate was 8.3%, down from 9.9% in February. The lowest rates were observed in Luxembourg (2.9%), Spain (3.1%), and the Netherlands (4.5%), while the highest rates were recorded in Hungary (25.6%), Latvia (17.2%), and the Czech Republic (16.5%). Compared to February, inflation fell in 25 Member States. Price inflation was 6.7% in France, 7.8% in Germany, and 8.1% in Italy. The largest contributions to inflation came from food, alcohol, and tobacco (+3.12 percentage points), followed by services (+2.10 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+1.71 pp), and energy (-0.05 pp). (MB)