Eurozone inflation rises as expected in December
Inflation in the 19 countries that share the euro rose as expected in December, according to final data released by Eurostat on Wednesday.
Consumer prices were up 1.1% on the year, versus 0.6% in November and matching an earlier estimate. On the month, consumer prices increased 0.5%.
Core inflation – excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco – edged up to 0.9% from 0.8% the month before, also in line with previous estimates.
Energy prices accounted for much of the rise in inflation, up 2.6% on the year in December versus a 1.1% drop in November.
In the EU-28 group of nations, annual inflation came in at 1.2% in December, up from 0.6% the month before.
Paul Sirani, chief market analyst at Xtrade, said: “Today’s perky inflation figures are the latest sign that the European economy could surpass expectations in 2017.
“Cutting the sustained stimulus programme will surely be high up on the agenda at Thursday’s Council meeting, with Germany the main protagonists.
“However, ECB President Mario Draghi is likely to remain cautious of the road ahead. Concerns over political turbulence in the coming months may continue to influence monetary policy more than recent data.”