02/03/2023 (Agence Europe) – Annual inflation in the euro area is estimated at 8.5% in February 2023, down from 8.6% in January, according to a flash estimate that the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) published on Thursday, 2 March. Price increases were highest in Latvia (20.1%) and Estonia (17.8%) and lowest in Luxembourg (4.8%) and Belgium (5.5%). Inflation reached 6.1% in Spain, 7.2% in France, 9.3% in Germany, and 9.9% in Italy. Among the main components of inflation, food, alcohol, and tobacco are expected to have the highest annual rate (15.0% compared to 14.1% in January), followed by energy (13.7% compared to 18.9% in January), non-energy industrial goods (6.8%), and services (4.8%). According to Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7% in the euro area and 6.1% in the EU in January—remaining stable in relation to the rates recorded in December 2022. (MB)