The annual inflation in the Eurozone has slightly decreased in February 2025, with a forecast of 2.4 percent, down from 2.5 percent in January, according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat on Monday.
The so-called “core inflation”, or the price increase excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, stood at 2.6 percent in February, compared to 2.7 percent in the previous month. This “core rate” is closely watched by the European Central Bank (ECB) in relation to its target of a two percent inflation rate.
Looking at the main components of inflation in the Eurozone, it is expected that the services sector in February will show the highest annual rate (3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent in January), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (2.7 percent, up from 2.3 percent in January), industrial goods excluding energy (0.6 percent, up from 0.5 percent in January) and energy (0.2 percent, down from 1.9 percent in January).
Eurostat reports the highest inflation rate in Croatia at 4.7 percent, followed by Belgium at 4.4 percent. In contrast, the agency records a low inflation rate of 1.3 percent in Ireland. For Germany, Eurostat calculates the inflation rate at 2.8 percent, using a different method than the Federal Statistical Office, which reported a price increase of 2.3 percent on Friday.