Inflation falls in December
According to a preliminary release by Eurostat on 4 January, harmonized inflation dropped to 1.6% in December, down from 1.9% in November. As a result, inflation sits further below the European Central Bank’s target rate of near, but below, 2.0%. The drop was chiefly due to reduced price pressures for energy, as the effects of higher oil prices peter out. In addition, inflationary pressures for food, alcohol and tobacco products also moderated in the month.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and unprocessed foods prices, came in at November’s 1.1% in December. A more complete dataset including month-on-month price variations will be released on 17 January.