Eurozone inflation rate increases in May: Eurostat

New official data show the inflation rate increased across the eurozone in May, amid deteriorating economic situation and public discontent across the 17-nation bloc.

The data released by EU statistics office Eurostat on Friday indicated that the eurozone inflation rose to 1.4 percent in May from 1.2 percent in April.

Estonia and the Netherlands had the highest inflation rates of 3.6 percent and 3.1 percent respectively, the report said.

The figure is, however, far below the 2.4-percent inflation rate for the same period last year.

The 27-nation European Union witnessed a higher inflation rate in May. The EU inflation rose to 1.6 percent compared with 1.4 percent in April.

The news comes a few weeks after a new survey conducted by the French research company Ipsos revealed that the vast majority of citizens in major EU states, including France, Spain and Italy, are dissatisfied with the economic situation in their countries.

Deteriorating economic situation in Europe has created growing discontent among the European public, with many nations across the continent grappling with teetering economies.

The European financial crisis began in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered massive demonstrations in many European countries.