Annual inflation in the euro area was 8.5% in January, down from 9.2% in December 2022, according to a flash estimate published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 1 February.
Among the eighteen euro area countries for which data are available, it was highest in Latvia (21.6%), Estonia (18.8%) and Lithuania (18.4%), while it was lowest in Spain and Luxembourg (both 5.8%) and Cyprus (6.8%). Price increases amounted to 7.0% in France and 10.9% in Italy.
Among the main components of inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in January (17.2%, compared to 25.5% in December), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (14.1%, compared to 13.8% in December), industrial goods excluding energy (6.9%, compared to 6.4% in December) and services (4.2%, compared to 4.4% in December).
Unemployment. At the end of 2022, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the euro area was 6.6%, stable compared to November 2022, according to Eurostat. In the EU, it was 6.1% in December, stable compared to November. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)