Brussels, 19/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Eurozone annual inflation fell from 2.5% in September to 2.4% in October (2.7% in October 2000) according to statistics published last Friday by Eurostat. In the EU as a whole (EU15), annual inflation fell from 2.4% in September to 2.2% in October (2.4% in October 2000). In October, the highest annual rates were registered in the Netherlands (5.0%), Portugal (4.2%) Ireland (3.8%), Spain and Greece (both 3.2%) and Sweden (2.9%); while the lowest rates were registered in the United Kingdom (1.2%), Luxembourg (1.7%), France (1.8%) and Denmark and Germany (both 2.0%). Italy and Austria both recorded 2.5%.
Compared with October 2000, the biggest relative rises were in Sweden (from 1.3% to 2.9%), the Netherlands (3.2% to 5.0%) and the United Kingdom (1.0% to 1.2%). The biggest relative falls were recorded in Luxembourg (4.3% to 1.7%), Belgium (3.7% to 1.9%) and Ireland (6.0% to 3.8%). Lowest 12-month averages up to October were found in the United Kingdom (1.2%), France (1.9%), Denmark, Austria and Sweden (2.4% each); while the highest were in the Netherlands (4.8%), Portugal (4.4%) and Ireland (4.2%).