17/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - Annual inflation in the euro area was 3.1% in November 2007, up from 2.6% in October. A year earlier, the rate was 1.9%. In the EU27, annual inflation also stood at 3.1% in November 2007, up from 2.7% in October, said Eurostat, the European Communities statistical office. The lowest annual rates were recorded in the Netherlands (1.8%), Finland (2.1%) and Slovakia (2.3%), and the highest rates in Latvia (13.7%), Bulgaria (11.4%) and Estonia (9.3%). Inflation was higher than forecast, and that was “clearly a cause for concern,” the Commission said on 14 December. “These figures are, indeed, worse than what we were expecting,” said Economic Affairs spokeswoman Amelia Torres. She added that the Commission expected inflation to be strong over the coming months, until around the middle of next year, “when we hope it will return to normal”. (I.L.)