According to the final data of Eurostat, annual inflation in the eurozone slowed by 0.1% to 8.5% in February. The final data coincided with the preliminary assessment and forecasts of analysts. Thus, inflation slowed down compared to January's 8.6%, and became the lowest since May 2022. Core inflation (CPI Core index), excluding the cost of food and energy, rose to a record 5.6% in annual terms compared to the January figure of 5.3%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices in February increased by 0.8% compared to January (when the indicator decreased by 0.2%) – to 8.6% year-on-year. The growth of energy prices slowed to 13.7% in annual terms (from 18.9% a month earlier), prices for food, alcohol and tobacco products increased to 15% from 14.1%, the cost of services increased by 4.8% (4.4% in January), industrial goods – by 6.8% (6.7% in January). Inflation rose the most in Hungary (25.8%), Latvia (20.1%) and the Czech Republic (18.4%), the least in Luxembourg (4.8%), Belgium (5.5%) and Spain (6%). The day before, the ECB raised three key rates by 50 basis points and announced that it was ready to raise them again in the future. The central bank believes that raising rates should bring the eurozone closer to the medium-term inflation target of 2%.
