One-euro coins on the flag of the European Union – illustration photo.
Brussels – The inflation rate in the eurozone fell for the fourth month in a row in February, but this time only by 0.1 point to 8.5 percent. In its quick estimate, the statistical office Eurostat announced this today. The market expected a more significant drop, analysts expected inflation of 8.3 percent or lower. Expensive food products are again behind the higher growth.
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The food, alcohol and tobacco category saw the biggest growth, with prices up 15 percent year-on-year, compared to a 14.1 percent increase in January. In second place is energy with a growth of 13.7 percent, while in January its growth was 18.9 percent. Compared to January, the rise in the prices of services was also slightly more pronounced.
Monthly, according to a quick estimate, prices in the eurozone increased by 0.8 percent. The quick estimate does not include data for the entire European Union, Eurostat will publish them in mid-March.
The Baltic states continue to have the highest inflation in the eurozone. In Latvia, the inflation rate fell to 20.1 percent, but this country remains the only one where inflation is still above 20 percent. In Estonia it is 17.8 percent and in Lithuania 17.2 percent. Slovakia has the fourth highest inflation in the Eurozone with a value of 15.5 percent.
On the other hand, Luxembourg recorded the lowest price growth, where the inflation rate in February fell to 4.8 percent from January's value of 5.8 percent, according to Eurostat's estimate. Inflation in Belgium eased to 5.5 percent from 7.4 percent in January. Greece and Spain have an inflation rate above six percent, France above seven.
