Inflation “stung” to 3.4% in March – Above the European average

It was set at 3.4% in March 2024 inflation in Greece according to the data released on Wednesday by the Eurostat, down 2 percentage points from March 2023 inflation (5.4%) but up 0.3 p.p. compared to the previous month, February 2024 which had closed at 3.1%.

Inflation at the eurozone level was 2.4%, almost three times lower than a year ago, when it stood at 6.9%. On a monthly basis, it also recorded a decline as in February 2024 it had closed at 2.6%.

Based on the above data, inflation in our country fell at a slower rate compared to the Eurozone, while in absolute terms it is higher than the average European average, occupying the 8th place among the countries with the highest inflation in the European ranking.

What the evidence shows

The lowest annual rates were recorded in Lithuania (0.4%), Finland (0.6%) and Denmark (0.8%) while the highest in Romania (6.7%), Croatia (4.9%) ), Estonia and Austria (both 4.1%). Compared to February, annual inflation fell in thirteen Member States, remained stable in four and rose in ten.

In March, the highest contribution to the euro area’s annual inflation rate came from services (+1.76 percentage points, p.p.), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (+0.53 p.p. .), non-energy industrial goods (+0.30 p.p.) and energy (-0.16 p.p.).

The table shows the annual inflation rates