The final data published by Eurostat showed that consumer price growth accelerated in December, confirming experts' forecasts and preliminary estimates. Meanwhile, core inflation fell to its lowest level since March 2022.
According to the report, the consumer price index rose by 2.9% per year after an increase by 2.4% per year in November. European Union annual inflation was 3.4% in December, up from 3.1% in November.
Meanwhile, on a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.2%, confirming economists' forecasts and partially offsetting the November drop (-0.6%).
Eurostat reported that the core consumer price index - excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - rose by 3.4% per year, as expected, after an increase by 3.6% per year in November.
The data also showed that the largest contribution to the annual inflation was made by services (+1.74%), food, alcohol & tobacco (+1.21%), non-energy industrial goods (+0.66%) and energy (-0.68%).
The lowest annual rates were registered in Denmark (0.4%), Italy and Belgium (both 0.5%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Czechia (7.6%), Romania (7.0%) and Slovakia (6.6%).