Eurozone inflation rebounded in Dec 2023

Brussels, Jan 6 (IANS) The eurozone's yearly inflation rate rebounded in December 2023 after a steady decline in recent months, reaching 2.9 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent in November, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat.

Yearly inflation in the eurozone is still driven by the prices of food, alcohol and tobacco, which reached 6.1 per cent in December, compared to 6.9 per cent in the previous month, reports Xinhua news agency.

Meanwhile, yearly inflation for the cost of services remained stable, at 4 per cent, from November to December.

Non-energy industrial goods registered a yearly inflation rate of 2.5 per cent in December, down from 2.9 per cent in November.

The price of energy accounts for the rebound in the yearly inflation rate of the eurozone in December, going from -11.5 per cent in November to -6.7 per cent in December.

The highest yearly inflation rates for December were recorded in Slovakia (6.6 per cent), Croatia (5.4 per cent) and Austria (5.7 per cent).

The European Central Bank in December 2023 decided to leave its key interest rates unchanged.

Despite the recent decline of inflation in the eurozone, the bank cautioned that "while inflation has dropped in recent months, it is likely to pick up again temporarily in the near term".