EU's annual inflation down in November

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL

The EU saw an annual hike of 2 percent in consumer prices in November, according to the EU's statistical office on Monday.

The 28-member bloc's annual inflation rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points last month, compared to 2.2 percent in October, Eurostat said.

Official figures showed that the EU's annual inflation was 1.8 percent in the same month in 2017.

"The lowest annual rates were registered in Denmark (0.7 percent), Ireland (0.8 percent) and Portugal (0.9 percent)," Eurostat said.

Eurostat's report also showed that the highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia, Hungary, and Romania, all 3.2 percent.

"Compared with October 2018, annual inflation fell in twenty-five member states, remained stable in one and rose in one," it added.

Over the last decade, the highest annual inflation rate in the EU was seen in July 2008, at 4.4 percent. The lowest was in January 2015, at minus 0.5 percent, when prices were in fact dropping.