EUROSTAT European Union Statistical Office : Euro area annual inflation down to 1.6%

1/2019 - 4 January 2019

Flash estimate - December 2018

Euro area annual inflation down to 1.6%

Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.6% in December 2018, down from 1.9% in November 2018, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in December (5.5%, compared with 9.1% in November), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (1.8%, compared with 1.9% in November), services (1.3%, stable compared with November) and non-energy industrial goods (0.4%, stable compared with November).

Euro area annual inflation, December 2018, %

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

All-item Foo	s HICP d, alcohol & tobacco	Energy
Non-energy i	dustrial goods Services

Euro area annual inflation and its components, %

Weight (‰) 2018	Dec 2017	Jul 2018	Aug 2018	Sep 2018	Oct 2018	Nov 2018	Dec 2018
All-items HICP	1000.0	1.4	2.1	2.0	2.1	2.2	1.9	1.6e
All-items excluding: > energy	903.0	1.2	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.1e
> energy, unprocessed food	828.2	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.1e
> energy, food, alcohol & tobacco	707.3	0.9	1.1	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.0e
Food, alcohol & tobacco	195.7	2.1	2.5	2.4	2.6	2.2	1.9	1.8e
> processed food, alcohol & tobacco	121.0	2.2	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.0	1.7e
> unprocessed food	74.8	1.9	2.6	2.5	3.2	2.1	1.8	1.9e
Energy	97.0	2.9	9.5	9.2	9.5	10.7	9.1	5.5e
Non-energy industrial goods	263.3	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4e
Services	443.9	1.2	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	1.3e

e = estimate

Geographical coverage

The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The euro area data refer to the country composition at a specific point in time. New Member States are integrated into the aggregate using a chain index formula.

Methods and definitions

Annual inflation is the change of the price level between the current month and the same month of the previous year.

Revisions and timetable

The euro area inflation flash estimate is issued at the end of each reference month.

The complete set of harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) for the euro area, EU and Member States is released around the middle of the month following the reference month. The next release with full data for December 2018 is scheduled for 17 January 2019.

For more information

Eurostat website section on inflation Eurostat database section on inflation

Eurostat Statistics Explained article on inflation in the euro area Eurostat metadata on inflation

Eurostat €-indicators release calendar

Issued by Eurostat Press Office	For further information on data:
Baiba GRANDOVSKA	Lenka VALENTA
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