Luxembourg's consumers saw 3.3% higher prices last month

Luxembourg's consumers saw prices increase by 3.3% in the past year, well above the EU average, the bloc's EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday.

The Grand Duchy's inflation rate for July, compared to the same month in 2020, was higher than the EU's 2.5% average, the Luxembourg-based statistics agency said. Estonia experienced the biggest leap in consumer costs at 4.9%, followed by Poland and Hungary at 4.7%. The lowest price rises were in Malta at 0.3%, Greece at 0.7% and Italy at 1%, Eurostat said.

Consumers in the 19 countries using the euro currency, which includes Luxembourg, were hit particularly by energy and alcohol price increases, Eurostat said. The agency did not cite reasons or primary drivers for higher prices in Luxembourg in particular.

Inflation in the Grand Duchy could temporarily rise to nearly 3% by the end of 2021, primarily driven by rising petrol prices, Luxembourg's statistics agency  Statec said earlier this month. This year's overall inflation is forecast at 2.2%, but is expected to slow down next year to about 1.7%, Statec said.

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