22/05/24 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate in the euro area stood at 2.4% in April, stable compared to March 2024, according to data published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Friday 17 May. In the EU, it stood at 2.6%, stable compared with March. The lowest rates were observed in Lithuania (0.4%), Denmark (0.5%) and Finland (0.6%), while the highest rates were recorded in Romania (6.2%), Belgium (4.9%) and Croatia (4.7%). Price rises were weak in Italy (0.9%), moderate in Germany and France (2.4%), and sustained in Spain (3.4%). The biggest contributions to annual inflation in the euro area came from services (+1.64 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.55 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+0.23 pp) and energy (-0.04 pp). (MB)