Brussels, 16/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - Eurozone annual inflation rose from 1.6% in February to 1.7% in March 20041, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported on Friday. A year earlier the rate was 2.4%. EU15 annual inflation was 1.5% in March 2004, stable compared to February. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. In March 2004, the highest annual rates were recorded in Greece (2.9%), Italy (2.3%), Spain and Portugal (both 2.2%), and the lowest rates were observed in Finland (-0.4%), Denmark and Sweden (both 0.4%). France reached 1.9% and Germany 1.1%. Compared with February 2004, annual inflation fell in seven Member States, rose in four and remained the same in three. Compared with March 2003, all the Member States registered a decrease in their annual inflation rates. The biggest relative falls were in Finland (1.9% to -0.4%), Sweden (2.9% to 0.4%) and Denmark (2.8% to 0.4%). Lowest 12-month averages up to March 2004 were in Finland (0.9%), Germany (1.0%) and Austria (1.2%); highest were in Ireland (3.3%), Greece (3.2%) and Portugal (2.8%).