Inflation: 2.9% in Greece in Dec., 2.4% in the Eurozone

The cost of services and non-energy industrial goods in Greece continues to rise significantly faster than in other eurozone countries, according to the Bank of Greece’s Inflation Monitor report.

07.01.2025 15:45

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Inflation: 2.9% in Greece in Dec., 2.4% in the Eurozone

Focus on growing inflation concept. Growing columns of coins, coins fade away from the last column what represents inflation. Post-covid economic consequence.

07.01.2025 15:45

Finance

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The cost of services and non-energy industrial goods in Greece continues to rise significantly faster than in other eurozone countries, according to the Bank of Greece’s Inflation Monitor report.

Inflation in Greece stood at 2.9% in Dec. of 2024, a slight decrease from 3% in Nov., according to preliminary estimates from Eurostat. Meanwhile, inflation in the eurozone reached 2.4%, up from 2.2% the previous month. Despite this annual decline, Greece experienced a monthly increase of 0.1% during last year’s Dec.

However, achieving the target of reducing inflation to 2.1% in 2025, down from the projected 2.7% in 2024, will largely depend on external factors. Key influences include the easing of geopolitical tensions and stability in energy and raw material prices.

The cost of services and non-energy industrial goods in Greece continues to rise significantly faster than in other eurozone countries, according to the Bank of Greece’s Inflation Monitor report. This trend has pushed both overall and core inflation in Greece to higher levels than the European average.

In the eurozone, services recorded the highest annual inflation rate among key components in Dec. at 4.0%, up slightly from 3.9% in Nov. They were followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.7%; non-energy industrial goods at 0.5% (down from 0.6%); and energy, which rebounded to 0.1% from -2.0% the previous month.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile categories like energy and unprocessed food, edged up to 2.8% annually from 2.7% in Nov. An even stricter core measure, which also excludes alcohol and tobacco, remained steady at 2.7%.

Inflation in Europe’s largest economies saw figures soaring. Germany experienced a sharper-than-expected rise in inflation in Dec. of 2024, with the annual consumer price index climbing to 2.9%, surpassing analysts’ forecasts of 2.6%. This marks a significant increase from Nov’s annual rate of 2.4%.

Core inflation in Germany, which excludes food and energy prices, rose to 3.1% in December, up from 3.0% the previous month.

Inflation in France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy, also accelerated in Dec., reinforcing the European Central Bank’s strategy of gradually reducing interest rates.

Consumer prices in France rose by 1.8% year-on-year in December, up from 1.7% in Nov. However, the increase fell short of the 1.9% growth forecasted by economists in a Bloomberg survey.