The highest rise in fuel prices for over a year boosted euro zone inflation in May beyond the two per cent target set by the European Central Bank which has flagged it is on the alert for oil-linked price pressures.
Prices rose 0.3 per cent from April and 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, in line with expectations and the fastest annual rate in more than two years, as fuel costs for transport jumped.
The core rate of inflation which excludes volatile energy and unprocessed food costs, rose 0.1 per cent from the previous month and 2.1 percent from a year earlier - the same annual rate of change seen in April.
"The core rate is giving us a better picture of underlying trends and it is not going up, which is good news," said Mr Luigi Speranza, euro zone economist at BNP Paribas in London.
Energy prices rose 2.5 per cent in May compared with the previous month and climbed 6.7 per cent from a year earlier.
"The oil price effect is starting to feed through this month," a Eurostat official said.
