Bulgaria came third among European Union (EU) members with the highest annual inflation in March 2011, according to data by the bloc's statistics bureau Eurostat.

The inflation in Bulgaria and Hungary stood at 4.6% in the period, while the countries that registered the biggest rise in consumer prices were Romania and Estonia with 8% and 5.1%, respectively.

The lowest inflation rates were recorded by Ireland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Euro zone inflation grew to 2.7% in March from 2.5% the previous month and 1.6% in the same period of 2010, while the annual inflation in the EU countries stood at 3.1%, higher than 2.9% in February.

As many as 18 EU members recorded a rise in consumer prices in March. The inflation rate remained unchanged in five, while another four registered a decline.