Eurozone Inflation Increases to 2.4% in December, Matching Market Expectations

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the Eurozone rose by 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) in December, up from a 2.2% increase in November, according to Eurostat data released on Monday. This outcome met market expectations, which had forecasted a 2.4% rise for the month.

Core HICP, which excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, also saw a 2.7% annual increase in December, consistent with the growth rate reported in November and in line with market forecasts.

On a monthly basis, HICP inflation for the Eurozone rebounded by 0.4% in December, following a 0.3% decline in November. Similarly, core HICP inflation showed a 0.5% month-over-month (MoM) increase, reversing the 0.6% decrease observed the previous month.

In terms of individual components, services recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 4.0% in December, slightly higher than the 3.9% reported in November. This was followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.7%, which remained unchanged from the previous month. Non-energy industrial goods saw a smaller increase of 0.5%, down from 0.6% in November, while energy inflation remained subdued at 0.1%, a significant improvement from the -2.0% drop in November.

The European Central Bank (ECB) targets an inflation rate of 2.0%, and inflation data from the Eurozone plays a key role in shaping market expectations regarding potential interest rate adjustments by the ECB.