This past week Eurostat announced that the euro area annual inflation was 1.4% in June 2010, down from 1.6% in May. On the same day the EU’s statistical service publicized also statistics on industrial production, which was found to be 9.4% higher in May, on annual base. Industrial product was 13.1% up in Germany and 8.3% in France. This is obviously a perfect combination for the two major economies of Eurozone and of course the entire zone as well. Mind you this is not a coincidental case in a month. It must be noted that in May Eurozone inflation rate was at 1.6% and in April at 1.5%. There is no doubt then that the euro money zone does not run any inflation dangers. As for industrial production, the same is true in this front and the excellent attainments  are not just lucky turn. The product of Eurozone’s industry was - on an annual base - up by 9,8% in April and 7.8% in March. In short the core eurozone statistics are on their best track for the last twenty months and as it seems they are improving. But let us see how the member states fared on those two crucial fronts.

Member States
In June 2010, the lowest annual inflation rates observed in Ireland (-2.0%), Latvia (-1.6%) and the Netherlands (0.2%), and the highest in Greece (5.2%), Hungary (5.0%) and Romania (4.3%). The lowest 12-month averages up to June 2010 were registered in Ireland (-2.5%), Latvia (-1.6%) and Portugal (-0.3%), and the highest in Hungary (5.2%), Romania (4.6%) and Poland (3.5%). Now lets go to the sectors.

Annual inflation (%) in June 2010 in ascending order Euro area
EU Member States outside the euro area

Inflation rates in %, measured by HICP

Source: Eurostat p = provisional

Industrial production
Lets return now to the industrial production. In May 2010 compared to May 2009, production of intermediate goods grew by 14.7% in the euro area and capital goods increased by 8.6% and. Durable consumer goods rose by 6.3% and production of energy gained 5.7%. Non-durable consumer goods grew by 3.7% in the euro area.
It has to be stressed that industrial production grew in all member states of Eurozone at the exception of Greece (-6.3%) for understandable reasons. The good news covers all the areas of the economic sectors from investments to the intermediaries and the consumer goods. Actually the double digit rates of increase remind a bit of Chinese economic attainments.
The highest increases were registered in Luxembourg (+13.5%), and Germany (+13.1%).

There is no doubt that all those good results are not of a short term character. Actually they had being there for everybody to see at least for one or two months. As it seems though the good news for Eurozone do not feet to the plans of the English language large media concerns.