Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, released figures moments ago showing that annual inflation in the eurozone rose to 1.7% in January in the preliminary reading, compared to 2.0% in December before being revised down to 1.9%, falling short of market expectations.
The largest contribution to inflation in September came from the services sector, rising to 3.2% from 3.4% in December. The food, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco sector index rose to 2.7% from 2.5%, while the non-energy industrial goods index slowed to 0.4%. The energy index fell to -4.1% from -1.9% in December.
The core index, which excludes food and energy prices, slowed to 2.2% from December’s reading of 2.3%, falling below market expectations.