Malta registers second lowest inflation rate in Europe at 7%

The inflation rate in Malta reached seven per cent in August 2022, up from 6.8 per cent a month prior, with the 12-month moving average now standing at 4.3 per cent – over double the European Central Bank’s long term target.

The highest annual inflation rates in August 2022 were recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.3 per cent) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (9.2 per cent). On the other hand, the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in clothing and footwear (0.4 per cent) and communication (0.9 per cent).

The largest upward impact on annual inflation was registered in the food and non-alcoholic beverages Index (+1.91 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of meat. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the restaurants and hotels Index (+1.35 percentage points) and the transport Index (+0.98 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of restaurant services and car maintenance services respectively.

On the other hand, no downward impacts on annual inflation were registered for the month of August

Meanwhile, the euro area annual inflation rate was 9.1 per cent in August 2022, up from 8.9 per cent in July. A year earlier, the rate was three per cent. European Union annual inflation was 10.1 per cent, up from 9.8 per cent in July. A year earlier, the rate was 3.2 per cent. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The lowest annual rates were registered in France (6.6 per cent), Malta (seven per cent) and Finland (7.9 per cent). The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (25.2 per cent), Latvia (21.4 per cent) and Lithuania (21.1 per cent). Compared with July, annual inflation fell in twelve member states and rose in fifteen.

In August, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from energy (+3.95 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+2.25 pp), services (+1.62 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+1.33 pp).

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