Brussels, 18/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - According to figures published by Eurostat on Friday 15 May, annual inflation in the euro area was 0.6% in April 2009, unchanged from March. A year earlier the rate was 3.3%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in April 2009. EU annual inflation was 1.2% in April 2009, down from 1.3% in March. A year earlier the rate was 3.6%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in April 2009.
In April 2009, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-0.7%), Portugal (-0.6%) and Luxembourg (-0.3%), and the highest in Romania (6.5%), Latvia and Lithuania (both 5.9%). The lowest 12-month averages up to April 2009 were registered in Portugal (1.6%), Ireland (1.9%) and Germany (2.0%), and the highest in Latvia (12.4%), Lithuania (10.0%) and Bulgaria (9.2%). (L.C./transl.rt)