Inflation in the European Union noticeably accelerated in December, following stronger price growth in the Eurozone, Eurostat reported.
At the EU level, the annual inflation rate measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), which allows for comparison among member countries, increased to 3.4 percent in December, from 3.1 percent in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, prices rose slightly, by 0.1 percent, after they were reduced by 0.4 percent in November, according to the tables of the European Statistical Office.
In December, the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone measured by the HICP was 2.9 percent, accelerating for the first time since April, Eurostat confirmed the estimate published in early January. In November, it was 2.4 percent.
In December, the price of fresh food rose the most in the euro area, by 6.8 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, noticeably stronger than in November.
On a monthly basis, prices in the 20-member economy rose by 0.2 percent in December, after falling in November for the first time since July, by 0.6 percent.
Among the EU countries that are not part of the eurozone, the Czech Republic and Romania had by far the highest inflation rate, at 7.6 and seven percent, respectively. In Poland, the leading economy outside the Eurozone, it was 6.2 percent.
Among the countries of the Eurozone, prices rose the most in Slovakia, by 6.6 percent compared to December of the previous year. Austria follows with a 5.7 percent increase in consumer prices.
Croatia is also close, with prices according to the HICP higher by 5.4 percent compared to December 2022, when the annual inflation rate was 12.7 percent. In November last year, it was 5.5 percent.
On a monthly level, consumer prices in Croatia in December were 0.3 percent lower than in November, when they decreased by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month.
The closest to Croatia at the end of the year was Hungary, which is not part of the Eurozone, with a 5.5 percent increase in consumer prices compared to the same month of the previous year.
Consumer prices rose the mildest on an annual basis in December in Denmark, by 0.4 percent, and in Italy and Belgium, by 0.5 percent, according to the Eurostat report, SEEbiz reports.
