Eurozone’s Lower Inflation Rate in December Far from ECB’s Target

Inflation in the eurozone moved further away from the target of the European Central bank for two months from November, as stated in the revised data published on Wednesday that confirms the previous statement.

According to the data from Eurostat, consumer prices increase by 1.4 percent annually in December from 1.5 percent a month before. This was in line with the “flash estimate” published by the start of January which was forecasted by economists on Reuter’s survey.

The year-on-year rate remained steadfast, excluding more volatile food, alcohol, and tobacco components and recorded at 0.9 percent in December, which supports the previous reading.

ECB chief Mario Draghi mentioned that he anticipates inflations to have a short-lived pullback as the effect of losing momentum for a rebound of energy prices as the economy and the labor market starting to gain its ground. Although, he noted that inflation should start moving in following the ECB target of almost 2 percent in the long run.