Malta Inflation Creeping Up

In April 2018, the annual rate of inflation in Malta as measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices was registered at a rate of 1.4%, up from 1.3% in March 2018, MNA reported. The National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday that the largest upward impact on annual inflation was recorded in the restaurants and hotels index (0.61 percentage points), mainly reflecting higher prices of restaurant services (including cafes and similar outlets). The largest downward impact was recorded in the clothing and footwear index (0.05 percentage points), attributed to lower prices of garments. Meanwhile, Eurostat reported that the eurozone annual inflation rate was 1.2% in April 2018, down from 1.3% in March. The lowest annual rates were registered in Cyprus (-0.3%), Ireland (-0.1%) and Portugal (0.3%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (4.3%), Slovakia (3.0%) and Estonia (2.9%). Compared with March 2018, annual inflation fell in 12 member states, remained stable in one and rose in 14.