OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2008. Annual inflation in Latvia increased 0,1 percentage points to 16.6 percent in March, which is once again the highest inflation rate in the European Union (EU), according to EU statistical office "Eurostat" data released.

According to the Latvian Central Statistical Bureau's data, calculated using a different methodology, annual inflation in March was 16,8 percent in Latvia.

In May 2007, the highest inflation in the EU was registered in Hungary, before that inflation in Latvia used to be the highest in the EU for several years.

This past March, the second highest inflation level in the EU was registered in Bulgaria – 13,2 percent, followed by Lithuania (11,4 percent), Estonia (11,2 percent), Romania (8,7 percent), the Czech Republic (7,1 percent), Hungary (6,7 percent) and Slovenia (6,6 percent), "Eurostat" said.

The lowest inflation rates were registered in the Netherlands (1,9 percent), Great Britain (2,5 percent), Portugal (3,1 percent) and Sweden (3,2 percent).

Compared to February, annual inflation increased in 18 EU member states, decreased in six and did not change in one.

Average annual inflation in all the 27 EU member states was 3,8 percent in March. A year ago, average annual inflation in the EU was 2.3 percent.