04/02/2025 (Agence Europe) – Annual inflation in the euro area is estimated at 2.5% in January, compared with 2.4% in December 2024, according to a flash estimate published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Monday 3 February. The highest rates were observed in Croatia (5.0%), Belgium (4.4%) and Slovakia (4.1%), while the lowest were in Ireland (1.5%), Finland (1.6%), Italy and Malta (both 1.7%). Price rises were moderate in France (1.8%) and sustained in Germany (2.8%) and Spain (2.9%). In terms of the main components of inflation, services is expected to see the highest rate (3.9%, compared with 4.0% in December), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (2.3%, compared with 2.6% in December), energy (1.8%, compared with 0.1% in December) and non-energy industrial goods (0.5%, stable compared with December). (MB)