European News

17, May 2012.

Ireland has racked up the third lowest inflation rate in the EU and the third largest trade surplus, official figures from EU statistical agency, Eurostat reveal.

Euro area annual inflation was 2.6pc in April 2012, down from 2.7pc in March. A year earlier the rate was 2.8pc. Monthly inflation was 0.5pc in April 2012. EU annual inflation was 2.7pc in April 2012, down from 2.9pc in March. A year earlier the rate was 3.3pc. Monthly inflation was 0.5pc in April 2012.

In April 2012, the lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden (1.0pc), Greece (1.5pc), Ireland and Romania (both 1.9pc), and the highest in Hungary (5.6pc), Estonia (4.3pc), the Czech Republic and Poland (both 4.0pc). Compared with March 2012, annual inflation fell in sixteen Member States and rose in ten.

The lowest 12-month averages up to April 2012 were registered in Sweden (1.2pc), Ireland (1.5pc) and Slovenia (2.2pc), and the highest in Estonia (4.8pc), Hungary (4.4pc) and Slovakia (4.2pc).

Meanwhile, Ireland had third largest trade surplus in Jan-Feb 2012 after Germany and the Netherlands, Eurostat said.

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+27.8 bn euro in January-February 2012), followed by the Netherlands (+7.2 bn) and Ireland (+6.8 bn). The United Kingdom (-23.7 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-15.6 bn), Spain (-7.1 bn) and Italy (-5.5 bn).