Romania, among EU member countries with highest inflation rates in August

Romania was among the member countries with the highest inflation rates in August, a month in which restrictions imposed to control the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) continued to rise, the data published on Thursday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) show.

In August, the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone fell to minus 0.2% from 0.4% in the previous month, while in the European Union it fell to 0.4% from 0.9% in the previous month. This is the first time since May 2016 that the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone went into negative territory.

Compared to the situation in July, the annual inflation rate in August decreased in 16 member states, remained stable in three (including Romania) and increased in six member states.

The highest annual inflation rates in the EU were recorded last month in Hungary (4%), Poland (3.7%), the Czech Republic (3.5%) and Romania (2.5%). At the opposite pole are some EU Member States where the annual inflation rate is negative: Cyprus (minus 2.9%), Greece (minus 2.3%) and Estonia (minus 1.3%).

Eurostat data also show that core inflation, ie what remains after the elimination of prices for v mn=olatile goods, such as energy and food, fell to 0.6% in August, from a level of 1.3 % in July. Core inflation is closely monitored by the ECB in drawing up its monetary policy decisions.