Brussels, 21/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - According to figures published on Monday 19 August by Eurostat, Euro-zone annual inflation rose from 1.8% in June to 1.9% in July 2002. A year earlier the rate was 2.6%. EU15 annual inflation rose from 1.6% in June to 1.8% in July 2002. A year earlier the rate was 2.5%. EEA (European Economic Area) annual inflation was 1.8% in July 2002.
The highest annual inflation rates in Member States in July were in Ireland (4.2%), the Netherlands (3.8%), Greece and Portugal (both 3.6%). The lowest rates were in Germany (1.0%), Belgium and the United Kingdom (both 1.1%). Compared with July 2001, the biggest relative falls were in Germany (2.6% to 1.0%), Belgium (2.7% to 1.1%) and Austria (2.8% to 1.5%) and the only relative rises were in Spain (2.4% to 3.5%) and Ireland (4.0% to 4.2%). Annual inflation fell from 0.3% to -0.1% in Switzerland and increased from 1.1% to 1.5% in the USA.