Euro area annual inflation negative for the first time

The average annual inflation of the Euro area in June was negative for the first time since its establishment, according to the final figures presented Wednesday by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
In Cyprus, inflation dropped to 0.1% from 0,5 in May, while in Greece it remained stable at 0,7%.
In particular, the figures show that Euro area annual inflation was -0.1% in June 2009, down from 0.0% in May. A year earlier the rate was 4.0%, while monthly inflation was 0.2% in June 2009.
EU annual inflation was 0.6% in June 2009, down from 0.8% in May. A year earlier the rate was 4.3%, while monthly inflation was 0.2% in June 2009.
Seven countries of the Euro area and one outside the area (Estonia) presented a negative annual inflation.
In June 2009, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-2.2%), Portugal (-1.6%), Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg (-1.0% each), and the highest in Romania (5.9%), Poland (4.2%) and Lithuania (3.9%).
Compared with May 2009, annual inflation fell in twenty-one member states remained stable in four and rose in one.
The lowest 12-month averages up to June 2009 were registered in Portugal (0.8%), Ireland (1.0%) and Germany (1.5%), and the highest in Latvia (10.0%), Lithuania (8.6%) and Bulgaria (7.3%).