The annual inflation in the Eurozone is expected to continue to rise in December 2024, with a forecast of 2.4 percent, following 2.2 percent in November, as reported by the EU statistics agency Eurostat on Tuesday. Prices rose by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month.
The core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, remained at 2.7 percent in December, the same as in November. This core rate is closely monitored by the European Central Bank (ECB) in relation to its target of a 2 percent inflation rate.
According to Eurostat, the main components of inflation in the Eurozone are expected to show the following annual rates in December: “Services” with the highest rate (4.0 percent, up from 3.9 percent in November), followed by “Food, alcohol, and tobacco” (2.7 percent, unchanged from November), “Industrial goods excluding energy” (0.5 percent, down from 0.6 percent in November), and “Energy” (0.1 percent, up from -2.0 percent in November).
Eurostat reports the highest inflation rate in Croatia at 4.5 percent, closely followed by Belgium at 4.4 percent. In contrast, Ireland’s inflation rate is reported to be 1.0 percent. For Germany, Eurostat calculates the inflation rate at 2.8 percent, using a different method than the Federal Statistical Office, which reported a rate of 2.6 percent the previous day.