Zurich (MaceNews) – Consumer prices in the euro area are expected to rise 0.9% in February from a year ago, led by food, alcohol and tobacco prices, according to the HICP flash estimate released today by Eurostat.
Economists had expected inflation to rise 1.0%, according to the median forecast of a survey of economists conducted by Econoday.
Energy prices are expected to fall 1.7% in February from a year ago, after a 4.2% drop in January. Excluding energy, consumer prices rose 1.2%. Similarly, the aggregate excluding energy end unprocessed food also showed a 1.2% increase.
The Netherlands and Germany saw the highest increases among the Euro area countries, with annual inflation expected to rise 1.9% and 1.6% respectively in February, while prices in Italy are seen rising 1.0%, according to the flash estimates.
On a monthly basis, prices posted a 0.2% gain compared to January, according to Eurostat.