Eurozone Inflation Confirmed At 2.4%

(RTTNews) - Eurozone inflation rose to a five-month high in December, as initially estimated, final data from Eurostat showed on Friday. The harmonized index of consumer prices climbed 2.4 percent from a year ago, following a 2.2 percent gain in November. The rate was the fastest since last July, when prices grew 2.6 percent. Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco held steady at 2.7 percent in December.

On a monthly basis, the HICP moved up 0.4 percent in December, as initially estimated.

Looking at the main components of the HICP, services registered the highest annual rate of 4.0 percent. This follows 3.9 percent rise in November.

Prices of food, alcohol and tobacco grew 2.6 percent compared to the initial estimate of 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, energy prices edged up 0.1 percent, reversing a 2.0 percent drop in November, data showed.

The increase in non-energy industrial goods prices eased marginally to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent in the prior month.