Inflation rose again in December in the euro area, to 2.9% year-on-year, after 2.4% in November, mainly due to energy prices, Eurostat announced on Friday. The figure is in line with the forecasts of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and reassures the European Central Bank (ECB) that the fight to reduce the increase in consumer prices to its 2% target is not over.
The rise in inflation is only linked to a smaller drop in energy prices in December. They fell 6.7% compared to the same month last year, but in November this drop had reached 11.5%. The increase in food prices (including alcohol and tobacco) decreased to 6.1% in December, after 6.9% the previous month.
Core inflation falls
But the figure most examined by the financial markets and the ECB is that of core inflation, corrected for the very volatile prices of energy and food. This indicator, considered more representative, fell in December to 3.4%, after 3.6% in November, in line with analysts’ forecasts, an encouraging sign. If the increase in the prices of services remained at 4% year-on-year in December, that of industrial goods fell to 2.5%, 0.4 points less than the previous month.
Belgium and Italy recorded the lowest inflation rate in December, 0.5%, among the 20 countries that share the single currency. Slovakia (6.6%) and Austria (5.7%) recorded the fastest price increases. France, which had contained inflation better than its partners in 2022, is now among the most affected countries, with a rate of 4.1% in the last month of 2023, compared to 3.8% in Germany.
Source: BFM TV
