17/01/2024 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate in the euro area stood at 2.9% in December 2023, compared with 2.4% in November, according to data confirmed by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 17 January. In the EU, it stood at 3.4% last month, compared with 3.1% in November. The lowest rates were observed in Denmark (0.4%), Italy and Belgium (both 0.5%), while the highest rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (7.6%), Romania (7.0%) and Slovakia (6.6%). Price rises were above the euro area average in Spain (3.3%), Germany (3.8%) and France (4.1%). In December 2023, the biggest contributions to inflation in the euro area came from services (+1.74 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+1.21 pp), industrial goods excluding energy (+0.66 pp) and energy (-0.68 pp). (MB)