Inflation in the euro zone eased further at the beginning of the year. According to the statistics office Eurostat, consumer prices rose by 8.5 percent in January compared to the same month last year. Experts had expected a rate of 8.9 percent. In a month-on-month comparison, prices fell by 0.4 percent in January.
With the fall in January, inflation has weakened for the third month in a row. Inflation was 9.2 percent in December and a record 10.6 percent in October.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, stayed at 5.2 percent in January. It is thus at its highest level since the introduction of the euro and shows that the upward trend in prices is not just affecting energy and raw materials.
