Eurozone inflation accelerated to 2.6% in July

Inflation in the Eurozone in July 2024 increased by 2.6% compared to the same month of 2023. Thus, the indicator accelerated compared to June, when it was 2.5%. This is evidenced by preliminary Eurostat data.

The consensus forecast of analysts, cited by Trading Economics, also predicted a more moderate growth of the indicator – at the level of 2.4%.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food costs, remained at the June level in July at 2.9%. Energy prices rose 1.4% after rising 0.2% in June. Experts expected a slowdown in core inflation to 2.8%.

In July, the bloc member countries with the highest annual inflation rates were Belgium (5.5%), the Netherlands (3.5%) and Estonia (3.5%), the lowest were recorded in Finland (0.6%) and Latvia (0.8%). Consumer prices rose by 2.6% in Germany, by 1.7% in Italy, and by 2.6% in France.

It will be recalled that the seasonally adjusted GDP of the Eurozone and the European Union in April-June 2024 increased by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter. In the first quarter, the economy of the Eurozone and the EU also grew by 0.3% q/q.

Among EU member states, Ireland (+1.2%), Lithuania (+0.9%) and Spain (+0.8%) showed the highest quarterly GDP growth. The largest decrease in the indicator was recorded in Latvia (-1.1%), Sweden (-0.8%) and Hungary (-0.2%).

According to the forecasts of the European Central Bank, the GDP of the Eurozone will grow by 0.9% year-on-year in 2024, and by 1.4% year-on-year – in 2025. At the same time, inflation will amount to +2.5% in the current year, and +2.2% in the next. Eurozone GDP is expected to grow by 1.6% in 2026, with inflation at 1.9%.