Daily life in the eurozone has become 8.5 percent more expensive in January, the European statistics office Eurostat reports based on provisional figures. As a result, the rate at which consumer prices rise in the euro area has slowed further compared to previous months.
However, in December, inflation was still 9.2 percent, and in October, inflation was still a record 10.6 percent annually.
Inflation has, therefore, already cooled since November. The inflation rate was also lower than the 8.9 percent that economists had generally expected. Consumers and businesses paid 0.4 percent cheaper than in December, while an increase of 0.1 percent was expected.
The cooling of inflation is mainly because petrol and diesel have become cheaper compared to a month earlier. Gas and electricity prices are also falling. Nevertheless, energy prices still account for the largest part of monetary inflation. Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco also rose again.
Earlier in the day, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) announced that inflation in the Netherlands cooled down to 8.4 percent in January, according to the European measurement method. However, that was still 11 percent in December. As a result, the Netherlands has dropped considerably on the list of countries with the highest inflation. However, inflation is still the highest in the Baltic States at over 21 percent. Of the large countries that have already provided data, Spain (5.8 percent) and France (7 percent) have the lowest inflation.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has already raised interest rates several times this year to bring inflation back towards the target of 2 percent. However, ECB President Christine Lagarde insisted last month that inflation is still “much too high” despite the recent slowdown in price increases. Central bankers will meet again on Thursday to discuss interest rates in the eurozone and are expected to raise interest rates again by half a percentage point.
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