According to the final report from Eurostat, in January the eurozone consumer price index rose by 5.1% per annum after an increase by 5% per annum in December. The latest value coincided with forecasts and a preliminary estimate published on February 2. On a monthly basis, consumer price growth slowed slightly to 0.3% from 0.4% in December, confirming forecasts and preliminary estimates. Meanwhile, the core CPI - excluding energy and food prices - rose 2.3% per annum after an increase by 2.6% per annum in December. Economists warn that if inflation continues to rise in the coming months, it will increase pressure on ECB policymakers to raise interest rates.
The data also showed that the largest contribution to the growth of annual inflation was made by energy carriers (+2.80%), services (+0.98%), food, alcohol and tobacco products (+0.77%) and non-energy industrial goods. (+0,56%).
As for the EU countries, the lowest annual inflation rate was recorded in France (3.3%), Portugal (3.4%) and Sweden (3.9%), while the highest rates were recorded in Lithuania (12.3%), Estonia (11.0%) and the Czech Republic (8.8%).