According to the European statistical agency Eurostat, annual inflation in the eurozone, according to preliminary estimates, slowed to 8.5% in February from 8.6% a month earlier. Analysts had expected a slowdown to 8.2%. A year earlier, inflation of 5.9% per annum was recorded in the eurozone. On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the eurozone increased by 0.8% compared to January, when the indicator decreased by 0.2%. Core annual inflation (CPI Core index, excluding food and energy) accelerated to 5.6%, while analysts predicted that the indicator would remain at the January level of 5.3%. The growth of energy prices in the eurozone in February slowed to 13.7% from 18.9% in January, while the rise in prices for food, alcohol and tobacco products accelerated from 14.1% to 15%. The highest inflation in February was recorded in Latvia (20.1%), Estonia (17.8%) and Lithuania (17.2%), the lowest in Luxembourg (4.8%), Belgium (5.5%) and Spain (6.1%).
