In April, the euro area’s annual inflation rate is estimated at 2.4%—stable compared to March—according to a flash estimate that the statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) published on Tuesday, 30 April.
With regard to the main components of euro-area inflation, services are expected to hit the highest annual rate in April (3.7%), followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco (2.8%); non-energy industrial goods (0.9% compared with 1.1% in March); and energy (−0.6% compared with −1.8% in March).
The highest rates were observed in Belgium (4.9%), Croatia (4.7%), Spain (3.4%), and Austria (3.4%), while the lowest rates were recorded in Lithuania (0.4%), Finland (0.6%), and Italy (1.0%). Price increases rose to 2.4% in Germany and France and to 3.4% in Spain.
GDP. In the first quarter of 2024, seasonally adjusted GDP increased 0.3% in both the euro area and the European Union compared to the previous quarter, according to Eurostat’s preliminary flash estimate based on data that will be revised.
Among the thirteen Member States for which data are available, Ireland (+1.1% of GDP) recorded the largest increase compared to the previous quarter, followed by Latvia, Lithuania, and Hungary (all three +0.8%).
Sweden (−0.1%) is the only Member State that recorded a drop in national GDP compared to the previous quarter. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)