2003 inflation rate ends at 3.5 pct after declining in last quarter

Greece’s price index ended 3.5 percent higher last year, according to the National Statistics Service (ESYE). The government had forecast a 3 percent inflation rate but the Bank of Greece was right on target. The year-on-year rate appeared to be declining in the last quarter, ending at 3.1 percent in December — against 3.6 percent a year earlier — in line with most EU countries. ESYE said due to a strike in the fall, the figures for October and November (3.2 and 3.3 percent respectively) were derived from only 60 percent of the total sample.