18/09/2024 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate for the euro area was 2.2% in August 2024, compared to 2.6% in July, according to figures published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 18 September. In the EU, it stood at 2.4%, compared to 2.8% in July. The lowest rates were observed in Lithuania (0.8%), Latvia (0.9%), Ireland, Slovenia and Finland (1.1% each), while the highest rates were recorded in Romania (5.3%), Belgium (4.3%) and Poland (4.0%). Price rises were weak in Italy (1.2%), moderate in Germany (2.0%) and France (2.2%), and a little stronger in Spain (2.4%). In August, the biggest contributions to the inflation rate came from services (+1.88 percentage points, pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.46 pp), industrial goods excluding energy (+0.11 pp) and energy (-0.29 pp). (MB)