17/04/24 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate in the euro area was 2.4% in March, down from 2.6% in February, according to figures published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 17 April. At EU level, it stood at 2.6%, compared with 2.8% in February. The lowest rates were observed in Lithuania (0.4%), Finland (0.6%) and Denmark (0.8%). The highest rates were recorded in Romania (6.7%), Croatia (4.9%), Estonia and Austria (both 4.1%). Price rises were weak in Italy (1.2%), moderate in Germany (2.3%) and France (2.4%), and stronger in Spain (3.3%). The biggest contributions to annual inflation in the euro area came from services (+1.76 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.53 pp), industrial goods excluding energy (+0.30 pp) and energy (-0.16 pp). (MB)