On 22 February, Eurostat, published figures on the inflation of the countries of the European Union.
The annual inflation rate in the Euro area was 1.4% in January 2019, marking a slight decrease compared to 1,5% of December, while, a year earlier, the relevant number was 1.3%. The annual inflation observed in the EU was 1.5% in January 2019, slightly lower than the December rate which rose to 1,6%. A year earlier, the rate was 1.6%.
Greece demonstrates the lowest annual rate (0.5%). It was 0,6% in December 2018 and 0,2% a year ago. The highest rates were recorded in Romania (3.2%). Inflation in Cyprus in January 2019 increased to 2.1%, compared to 1.0% in December 2018. A year ago, the rate amounted to -1.5%.
In comparison to the figures that were recorded in December 2018, annual inflation decreased in sixteen Member States, remained stable in five and increased in seven.
In January 2019, services contributed most to the annual euro area inflation rate (+0.70 percentage points, pp). Food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.36 pp), energy (+0.26 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.06 pp), followed.
