According to the report from Eurostat, the euro area annual inflation rate was 1.3% in March 2021, up from 0.9% in February. A year earlier, the rate was 0.7%. European Union annual inflation was 1.7% in March 2021, up from 1.3% in February. A year earlier, the rate was 1.2%.

The lowest annual rates were registered in Greece (-2.0%), Portugal, Malta, Ireland and Slovenia (all 0.1%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Poland (4.4%), Hungary (3.9%), Romania and Luxembourg (both 2.5%).

Compared with February, annual inflation fell in three Member States, remained stable in three and rose in twentyone. 

In March, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from services (+0.57 percentage points, pp), followed by energy (+0.43 pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.24 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.09 pp).