Austrian Inflation Confirmed At 3.0%

(RTTNews) - Austria's consumer price inflation eased slightly as initially estimated in May, the latest data from Statistics Austria showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index climbed 3.0 percent year-over-year in May, slower than the 3.1 percent increase in April. That was in line with the flash data published on June 3.

Nonetheless, the inflation rate is still above the European Central Bank's stability target of 2.0 percent.

"The strongest year-on-year price increase was once again seen in electricity, although the effect on the inflation rate was largely offset by price declines for other energy sources such as gas, heating oil, solid fuels, and motor fuels," Thomas Burg, Director General Statistics at Statistics Austria, said.

Housing and utility costs were 5.0 percent higher compared to last year, and charges in connection with restaurants and hotels grew 5.6 percent. Food prices rose 2.4 percent, while transport costs declined 0.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down 0.1 percent, as estimated.

The EU measure of the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, also rose at a slower rate of 3.0 percent versus a 3.3 percent increase in April, confirming the flash estimate.