The latest Eurostat data show a decrease in inflation in Europe and the Eurozone. The April 2024 Eurozone inflation rate is stable at 2.4 per cent compared to March 2024. This
period of recovery comes after a period of high inflation from raw materials and energy costs.
The decrease and stabilisation of inflation is due to the ECB (European Central Bank), which tries to keep the inflation rate within the 2% target, has applied a restrictive monetary policy that decreases the money supply to decrease the general price increase.
Italian inflation is below the EU average.
Since the beginning of this year, inflation in Italy is lower than the European average and is around 1.6%, compared to the rate recorded in 2023 which was 5.9% and in 2022 which was 8.7%. We are below only Finland, which recorded an inflation rate of 1.4%, compared to the other countries: Germany (2.4%), France (2.5%) and Spain (3.1%).
Inflation in the US is no closer to the Fed’s targets.
May 2024, the inflation situation in the US shows an annualised rate of 3.36%. The consumer price index, which is the statistical average of prices for a set of goods and services, increased by 0.3 per cent in April 2024, after an increase of 0.4 per cent in March. This price increase was mainly due to the price of petrol, as the food sector remained unchanged.
This data shows us that inflation also in America continues to be a challenge for the Fed, which will surely make its move.