By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) - The eurozone's annual consumer inflation in January was confirmed at 2.8%, according to a second reading released on Thursday.

January figure eased from 2.9% in December 2023 and 8.6% in January 2023, Eurostat data showed.

The core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, slowed to 3.3% last month.

In January, the highest contribution to the annual inflation rate came from services (up 1.73 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (up 1.13 points), non-energy industrial goods (up 0.53 points), and energy ( down 0.62 points), read the statement.

The prices of services and food, alcohol and tobacco increased 4% and 5.6%, respectively, from a year earlier.

Energy prices fell at a slower pace in January by 6.1% year-on-year compared to December's 6.7% decline.

The European Union's annual inflation was 3.1% in January 2024, down from 3.4% in December. A year earlier, the rate was 10.0%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The annual consumer inflation in the EU slowed to 3.1% in January, following 3.4% in December.

The lowest annual rates were registered in Denmark, Italy (both 0.9%), Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland (all 1.1%), while the highest rates were seen in Romania (7.3%), Estonia (5.0%), and Croatia (4.8%).

On a monthly basis, the eurozone's consumer price index dropped 0.4% in January, in line with the initial estimate.