Malta’s inflation doubles in October but remains lowest in Euro area

Malta registered the lowest annual inflation in the Euro area this month as the country remained largely insulated from high energy prices, Eurostat figures show.

The October inflation rate in Malta stood at 1.4% when compared to the same month last year, according to a flash estimate released on Friday by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm.

However, despite Malta having the lowest annual inflation rate in the Euro area, the rate is still double that registered in September. Last month, annual inflation in Malta was 0.7%.

Eurostat said that Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 4.1% in October, up from 3.4% in September.

Energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in October – 23.5%, compared with 17.6% in September.

Portugal is expected to register the second lowest annual inflation rate after Malta at 1.8%, while Lithuania and Estonia will top the list with 8.2% and 7.4% respectively.

Europe’s largest economy, Germany, is expected to see the annual inflation rate hit 4.6%.

While energy and fuel prices across Europe are going up, Malta’s electricity rates have remained stable and there has been no change yet in fuel prices.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has budgeted almost €200 million next year, equivalent to 1.4% of GDP, to cushion any impact from higher energy prices as the Electrogas fixed-price deal comes to an end and fuel costs may rise.