EU: Annual inflation rate up in December

ANKARA

Consumer prices in the EU increased 0.3% year-on-year in December, the bloc’s statistics office said on Wednesday.

The 27-member bloc’s annual inflation rate last month was up from 0.2% in November 2020, according to Eurostat.

The figure was 1.6% in the same month previous year.

Compared with a month earlier, annual inflation fell in nine member states, increased in ten, and remained stable in eight.

The lowest rate was seen in Greece at minus 2.4%, followed by Slovenia and Ireland with minus 1.2% and minus 1%, respectively.

Poland (3.4%), Hungary (2.8%), and Czechia (2.4%) posted the highest inflation rates in December.

Eurostat data showed that the eurozone’s inflation rate was minus 0.3% for the fourth month in a row in December 2020, while decreasing from 1.3% in December 2019.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the single currency – euro – while EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.