Inflation rate hits record highs
EU-harmonized price index soars to 12% in June, so the national CPI may well reach up to 13%
Reality has exceeded even the most pessimistic estimates, based on which inflation in the eurozone was expected to rise in June to 8.4%, as according to Eurostat’s announcement on Friday inflation in the euro area reached 8.6%, setting a new all-time high. The figures for Greece are even more worrying, as Eurostat said the EU-harmonized index of consumer prices jumped to 12% from 10.5% in May.
The June data for the National Consumer Price Index, which according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reached 11.3% in May, is to be announced next Friday, July 7, and it is possible that it will be close to 13%.
As electricity prices and fuel remain at very high levels, a de-escalation of consumer prices is not expected anytime soon, while at the same time there are still problems of sufficiency in primary and secondary materials, which in turn leads to additional price increases.
The level of the harmonized index of consumer prices at 12% is the highest figure since it started being recorded in Greece in 1996, with the previous record set in May 2022. The last time the National Consumer Price Index reached such levels was in 1993.
Based on Eurostat data, Greece had the fifth highest inflation in the eurozone in June after Estonia (22%), Lithuania (20.5%), Latvia (19%) and Slovakia (12.5%). This country also had the second highest month-on-month index change, at 2.5% in June (2.8% was the monthly change in Estonia) compared to May, showing how steep the price the price rise has been recently in Greece.
Eurostat’s sector-specific figures also show that Greece had the second highest energy inflation (60.6%) after Belgium (64.6%) last month on an annual basis.
That figure serves to highlight the strong dependence of Greek production on conventional forms of energy, and it certainly explains the steep rise in prices, not only for energy products but also for the vast majority of other goods, as well as services.
