Inflation In The EU Area Rising Steadily, Malta Not Doing Too Bad

Rising

Inflation, the increase of prices and decreased monetary value has gone up since June 2020 with the rates gradually rising over the months; in May 2022 it was 5.8% according to a statement by the NSO.

Though this may sound like bad news, Malta actually has one of the lowest inflation rates in Europe with the Euro Area being 8.6% and EU27 being even greater at 9.6%.

Food and Drink

Having said all this, the 12 month shifting average in June 2022 was 3.1%, the highest rate in 3 years. So still not the best.

This inflation increase is mainly due to rising food prices and non-alcoholic beverages with restaurant and hotel prices following closely behind. The only factor working against inflation is the communication sector.

Price Stability

This was all determined by the HICP; a harmonised, meaning allowing accurate comparisons to be done between countries, Index for Consumer Products. In a nutshell, the change in price of consumer goods and services purchased by a household compared to different countries.

It is the European Central Bank’s main tool to determine price stability.

Do you think this out of control inflation will ever start to decline?