Irish inflation slows to 3.5% but core reading rises, flash estimate shows

DUBLIN, May 29 (Reuters) - ​Irish ⁠inflation slowed a touch ​to 3.5% in May from ​a ‌two-and-a-half-year high of 3.6% in April, ⁠however core inflation, ⁠which excludes energy ​and unprocessed food, jumped to 2.7% from 2.3% a month ​earlier, ‌a flash estimate showed on Friday.

Headline inflation fell by 0.1% month-on-month due to ​a 4.3% drop in energy prices ‌in May compared to April. Energy prices are ‌still 11.9% higher this month than they were a year ​ago, the estimate of the Harmonised Index ‌of Consumer Prices showed.

Food prices are estimated to have ⁠increased ⁠by 0.1% in ‌the last month and gone up by ​1.4% ​in the last ‌12 months, the Central Statistics Office added. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Kate Holton)