In January, inflation in Greece decreased to 3.2% from 3.7% in December, while in the Eurozone, it declined to 2.8% from 2.9% recorded in the previous month, according to preliminary data from Eurostat.
Despite the overall trend, Greece faces persistent challenges with rising food prices, as the “food, alcohol, and tobacco” index totaled 7.1%, slightly lower than December’s 7.6%. Examining the Eurozone figures, January witnessed food, alcohol, and tobacco registering an inflation rate of 5.7%, down from December’s 6.1%. Services remained stable at 4.0%, non-energy industrial goods decreased to 2.0% from December’s 2.5%, and energy prices saw a decline of -6.3%, compared to -6.7% in December.
In Germany, the annual inflation rate at the beginning of the year reached its lowest levels since June 2021. Specifically, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), inflation stood at 2.9%. The data indicated that in January 2024, energy prices were 2.8% lower than the same month of the previous year. However, the rise in food prices remained “significantly higher than the overall inflation,” recording an increase of 3.8% at the beginning of the year.
Finally, inflation in France declined more than expected, reaching its lowest levels since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, the consumer price index stood at 3.4%, a decrease from the 4.1% in December, and below the analysts’ average estimate of 3.6% in a Bloomberg survey.
