The Eurozone Started the Year with Accelerating Inflation.

Inflation in the Eurozone Continues to Rise

For four consecutive months, consumer inflation in the Eurozone is accelerating. After reaching a low in September 2024, the annual inflation in October was 2%, in November - 2.2%, and in December - 2.4%.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, remained at December's level (2.7%). Energy prices rose by 1.8% in January (after +0.1% in December).

The highest annual inflation rate among countries using the single European currency was recorded in:

Croatia - 5%

Belgium - 4.4%

Slovakia - 4.1%

Austria - 3.5%

Lithuania - 3.4%

The smallest price increases occurred in the following countries:

Ireland - 1.5%

Finland - 1.6%

Italy - 1.7%

Malta - 1.7%

France - 1.8%

Despite this, the ECB lowered its rates for the fourth time on January 30 to support the Eurozone economy, which is likely to grow by only 0.7% in 2024, with growth expected at 1.1% in 2025.