04/01/2019 (Agence Europe) – Euro area annual inflation was 1.6% in December 2018, according to a flash estimate from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Friday 4 January. This rate is 0.3 percentage point lower than in November of the same year (see EUROPE 12161). Energy prices increased the most between December 2017 and December 2018 (5.5%), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (1.8%), services (1.3%) and non-energy industrial goods (0.4%). (LT)