The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Eurozone in February was reported at an annual rate of 2.6%, according to preliminary inflation data released by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat).
In comparison to January, where the annual inflation rate was 2.8%, February saw a slight decrease to 2.6%. The month-on-month change in the Consumer Price Index for February was 0.6%.
Market expectations had predicted a 2.5% annual inflation rate for February in the Eurozone. The revealed figure exceeding these expectations has drawn attention.
Analyzing the components of inflation, the highest annual inflation, at 4%, was observed in the categories of food, alcohol, and tobacco products. Services followed with 3.9%, non-energy industrial products with 1.6%, while energy products experienced a decline of 3.7%.
The core inflation rate for the Eurozone in February was measured at an annual rate of 3.1% and a monthly rate of 0.7%.
Harmonized inflation data for February showed the following rates: 2.7% in Germany, 3.1% in France, 0.9% in Italy, and 2.9% in Spain.
Unemployment Declines in the Eurozone in January
Eurostat also released unemployment data for the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone for the month of January.
In the EU, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained stable at 6% in January, the same as in December.
In the Eurozone, the unemployment rate, which was 6.5% in December, slightly decreased to 6.4% in January. In January 2023, the unemployment rate was 6.6% in the Eurozone and 6.1% in the EU.
Country-specific unemployment rates in January were reported as follows: 11.6% in Spain, 10.4% in Greece, 8.1% in Sweden, and 7.5% in France.
The total number of unemployed individuals in the EU was calculated at 13,144,000 in January, with 11,009,000 of them in the Eurozone.
For individuals aged 25 and below, the youth unemployment count in January was 2,898,000 in the EU and 2,315,000 in the Eurozone. The youth unemployment rate was measured at 14.9% in the EU and 14.5% in the Eurozone.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç