Luxembourg, 18/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - According to Eurostat, the annual inflation rate fell from 3.4% in May to 3% in June in the euro zone (2.4% in June 2000) and from 3.1% in May to 2.8% in the European Union (EU15) (2.1% in June 2000). As for the annual rate of inflation in the European Economic Area it stood at 2.8% in June.
In June, the highest annual rates of inflation were recorded in the Netherlands (5.0%), Portugal (4.6%) and Greece (4.5%). The lowest rates were recorded in the United Kingdom (1.7%), France (2.2% and Denmark (2.2%). In relation to May 2001, annual inflation rates increased in two Member States, fell in ten and remained unchanged in three. Compared to June 2000, the highest relative rises were recorded in the United Kingdom (from 0.8% to 1.7%), Sweden (1.4% to 3.0%) and Greece (2.2% to 4.5%). The steepest relative falls were in Luxembourg (4.4% to 2.7%), Denmark (2.9% to 2.2%) and Ireland (5.4% to 4.3%).