Inflation in Austria has been steadily declining over the past few months, with a recent flash estimate from Statistics Austria showing an inflation rate of 3.3 percent in April, down from 3.5 percent in March. This marks the first time that inflation has fallen below four percent since October 2021.
Housing and energy prices are currently driving inflation at a slower pace than they have in recent months, while food prices remain slightly below average. However, price increases in the catering industry are significantly higher. According to Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas, inflation in Austria is slowly approaching the ECB target.
The harmonized consumer price index (HICP) for Austria was also at 3.3 percent compared to the same month last year, representing a slight increase of 0.1 percent from April’s HICP of 3.2 percent. Despite this small increase, Austria now has a lower inflation rate than Spain, where the HICP rose to 3.8 percent in May. Finance Minister Magnus Brunner stated that experts predict Austrian annual inflation will halve in 2024 compared to the previous year.
In the eurozone, consumer prices were 2.6 percent higher in May compared to the same month last year, a slight increase from April’s 2.4 percent. Austria ranked fifth among countries with the highest rates of inflation after Belgium, Croatia, Portugal and Spain; while Latvia had the lowest rates at -0
