December 2018: euro area annual inflation down to 1.6% (Eurostat)
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.6% in December 2018, down from 1.9% in November 2018, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in December (5.5%, compared with 9.1% in November), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (1.8%, compared with 1.9% in November), services (1.3%, stable compared with November) and non-energy industrial goods (0.4%, stable compared with November).
Geographical coverage
The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The euro area data refer to the country composition at a specific point in time. New Member States are integrated into the aggregate using a chain index formula.
Methods and definitions
Annual inflation is the change of the price level between the current month and the same month of the previous year.
Revisions and timetable
The euro area inflation flash estimate is issued at the end of each reference month.
The complete set of harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) for the euro area, EU and Member States is released around the middle of the month following the reference month. The next release with full data for December 2018 is scheduled for 17 January 2019.
