The euro area’s annual inflation slowed to 8.5% in February, with Latvia clocking the highest annual inflation for the month at 20.1%, followed by Estonia at 17.8% and Lithuania at 17.2%, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat on March 2.
The euro area’s overall annual inflation slowed somewhat from 8.6% in January to 8.5% in February, according to the latest flash estimate.
By component, food, alcohol and tobacco saw the highest increase in prices at 15% (up from 14.1% in January), followed by energy at 13.7% (down from 18.9%), non-energy industrial goods at 6.8% (up from 6.7%) and services at 4.8% (up from 4.4%).
Slovakia followed the Baltic States with annual inflation of 15.5% in February. To Estonia’s north, Finland’s annual inflation stood at just 7.9%.
The lowest annual inflation in the euro area last month was recorded in Luxembourg at 4.8%, followed by Belgium at 5.5% and Spain at 6.1%. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
