Eurozone inflation eases in May, but Italy and Portugal still see higher rates.

Italian inflation resumed its declining path in May, driven mainly by a decline in the non-regulated energy component and inflation declines in "other goods", transport services, and non-fresh food. The decline in headline inflation confirms that the normalization of the inflation path is a gradual one. The sharp decline in producer price inflation in April suggests that a more marked decline in the goods price inflation is building in the pipeline, which might show up in the CPI components already in the third quarter. The core measure, which excludes energy and fresh food, was marginally down to 6.1% YoY in May, the second decline in a row.