Slight drop in inflation in the eurozone in February

(Patria) - Inflation in the eurozone slightly weakened in February, falling to 8.5 percent, thanks to a more moderate increase in energy prices, according to initial estimates from Eurostat released today.

In February, the annual inflation rate in the eurozone, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), stood at 8.5 percent, calculated by the European statistical office. In January, prices rose by 8.6 percent, and in December by 9.2 percent.

On a monthly basis, prices in February rose by 0.8 percent, after a 0.2 percent drop in the first month of the year.

The main drivers of high inflation in February were fresh food and energy, with almost the same annual price growth rates of 13.6 and 13.7 percent, respectively.

The rise in food prices thus accelerated compared to the first month of the year when they increased by 11.3 percent. The increase in energy prices, however, was noticeably moderated, from 18.9 percent in January, reports Hina.

On a monthly basis, fresh food prices jumped by 3.4 percent in February. In January, they had risen by 1.1 percent.

Energy prices, on the other hand, decreased by 1.1 percent in February compared to January, when they had risen by 0.6 percent.

Excluding the volatile prices of energy and food, the annual inflation rate in the eurozone in February was 7.4 percent, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than in January.

In February, the Baltic countries recorded the highest annual inflation rate, led by Latvia - where it stood at 20.1 percent. Estonia and Lithuania followed with inflation rates of 17.8 and 17.2 percent, respectively.

The group with double-digit inflation rates, measured by HICP, also includes Slovakia with 15.5 percent, Croatia with 11.7 percent, and Austria with 11 percent.