The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone eased last month, according to Eurostat, confirming provisional figures published earlier in June. The eurozone's harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) was unchanged in May from April and was up 1.9pc year-on-year, unchanged from the provisional estimate, the statistics office said. The HICP rose 2.1pc year-on-year in April.
The lower reading in May was in line with forecasts and reflects falling oil prices since the war in Iraq and the stronger euro, which has made eurozone imports cheaper. Energy prices fell 2.0pc in May from April. Eurozone inflation has declined since hitting 2.4pc in March. Last week, ECB president Wim Duisenberg said the central bank aims at maintaining the inflation rate "below", but "close to" 2pc over the medium term. He said this clarification underlined the ECB's commitment to provide a "sufficient safety margin to guard against the risks of deflation". In a separate release, Eurostat said that the eurozone posted a trade surplus of E3.0bn in April compared with a surplus of E4.6bn a year earlier. //www.fxcentre.com