According to data published by Eurostat, Greece had the highest deflation rate in the European Union in April, when the consumer prices index dropped by 1.6%, compared to the 1.3% drop in Bulgaria and 0.4% drop in Cyprus.
Overall, the rate of inflation in the Eurozone increased from 0.5% in March to 0.7% in April, while a year ago the rate was 1.2%. In the European Union the rate inflation increased from 0.6% in March to 0.8% in April and was 0.1% a year ago.
The highest rates of inflation amongst European Union members were documented in Austria and Romania (both 1.6%), followed by Finland (1.3%) and Germany (1.1%).
In total, compared to March 2014, the rate of inflation dropped for seven member states, remained unchanged for four and increased for 16 – no data was made available for Great Britain.
Recession still going strong in Cyprus and Greece
The gross domestic product in the Eurozone grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2014, while in the European Union the growth rate was 0.3%. Compared to the first trimester of 2013, the seasonally-adjusted GDP increased by 0.9% in the Eurozone and by about 1.4% in the European Union.
The greater growth rates were documented in Romania (3.8%), Poland (3.5%), Hungary (3.2%), Great Britain (3.1%) and Lithuania (2.9%). Conversely, the greatest rates of recession were found in Cyprus (4.1%), Greece (1.1%), Finland (0.8%), Italy (0.5%) and Holland (0.5%).
