Lithuania reported an annual inflation rate of 5.6% in June 2026, the highest in the European Union, according to new estimates from Eurostat.
Other countries to report a higher-than-average inflation rate included Bulgaria (4.1%), Cyprus (4.0%) and Spain (3.8%), the data showed.
At the other end of the scale, Estonia recorded an annual inflation rate of 2.0%, the lowest rate among euro area member states, while Malta reported 2.1%.
Euro area inflation
Across the euro area as a whole, annual inflation rose to 2.9% in July 2026, up from 2.8% in June, Eurostat noted.
The increase was driven primarily by energy prices, with annual energy inflation accelerating to 10.0% from 8.5% in June. Services inflation also edged higher to 3.3%, while inflation for food, alcohol and tobacco slowed to 1.2% from 1.5%. Non-energy industrial goods recorded annual inflation of 0.9%, compared with 0.7% a month earlier.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, remained stable at 2.5% in July, indicating that underlying price pressures changed little over the month.
Several countries recorded a decline in annual inflation compared with June, including Greece, where inflation fell from 3.9% to 2.7%, Croatia, which declined from 4.2% to 3.6%, and Slovakia, where inflation eased from 3.5% to 3.0%.
Month-on-month increase
On a month-on-month basis, euro area consumer prices increased by 0.2% in July, Eurostat’s estimates showed.
Energy prices rose by 2.4% during the month, while services prices increased by 1.1%. Food, alcohol and tobacco prices were unchanged from June, and non-energy industrial goods declined by 2.2%.
Eurostat noted that the composition of the euro area changed on 1 January 2026 with Bulgaria joining the single currency bloc, expanding it from 20 to 21 member states. Read more here.
