Eurozone Inflation Cools to 1.7 Percent

(MENAFN) Euro area inflation cooled sharply to 1.7% in January, retreating from 2% in December and marking a significant decline from the 2.5% recorded in the same period last year, Eurostat confirmed Wednesday.

The broader EU annual inflation rate similarly eased, falling to 2% from 2.3% the previous month, underscoring a widespread deflationary trend across the bloc.

France led the region with the lowest national inflation rate at just 0.4%, with Denmark close behind at 0.6%. Finland and Italy each registered 1%. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Romania posted the steepest rise at 8.5%, trailed by Slovakia at 4.3% and Estonia at 3.8%.

The trend was broadly downward across the bloc — annual inflation declined in 23 member states, held steady in one, and climbed in three compared with December's figures.

Services remained the dominant driver of price pressures, contributing the largest share to the euro area's overall inflation figure at plus 1.45 percentage points.

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