Brussels, 27/02/2026 (Agence Europe) – The annual inflation rate in the euro area stood at 1.7% in January 2026, compared with 1.9% in December, according to figures published by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 25 February. At EU level, it was 2.0% in January, compared with 2.3% the previous month and 2.8% a year earlier. The lowest rates were observed in France (0.4%), Denmark (0.6%), Finland and Italy (1.0%), while the highest were recorded in Romania (8.5%), Slovakia (4.3%) and Estonia (3.8%). Price increases were moderate in Germany (2.1%) and sustained in Spain (2.4%). The biggest contributions to the annual inflation rate in the euro area came from services (+1.45 percentage points or pp), followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco (+0.51 pp); non-energy industrial goods (+0.09 pp); and energy (+0.39 pp). (BD)