Euro area and EU inflation evolve through February, with continued declines from autumn peaks
In February, inflation moved lower in both the euro area and the European Union as annual rates eased by about one tenth from the prior month. The Eurozone posted an 8.5 percent rate, while the EU overall stood at 9.9 percent. These figures come from Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics agency, which released the data on the latest Friday. The changes reflect a broader pattern of cooling after the sharp price surges recorded in 2022 and 2023, signaling that a period of price stabilization may be taking hold in many member states (Eurostat).
Over the four months leading to February, inflation has traced a clear downward path in both regions, with reductions of 10.6 percent in the euro area and 11.5 percent in the Twenty-Seven since the October peak. This successive month-to-month decline reinforces the sense that consumer price growth is easing, even though some components still show persistent momentum in certain sectors (Eurostat).
When examining the core rate, which strips out energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, a different dynamic emerges. Core inflation rose to 3.0 percent, reaching 5.6 percent in February because the underlying price pressures proved more volatile than the headline figure. If energy and fresh foods are excluded, the rate increased by three-tenths to reach 7.4 percent, underscoring the ongoing challenge of controlling prices in essential goods and services while energy remains a major driver in the headline trajectory (Eurostat).
Eurostat’s preliminary estimates place the euro area in a month where Spain registered a comparatively low inflation level, at around 6 percent beneath earlier projections. Luxembourg and Belgium also reported relatively subdued readings at 4.8 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, illustrating a wide dispersion across member states in how price levels are evolving (Eurostat).
Within the broader picture of price changes, energy shifted its role as the primary inflation driver in February, yet its rate of increase was still substantial at about 13.7 percent. Other components contributed to the observed inflation path, with differences across categories such as processed foods, beverages, and tobacco versus fresh food. The contrast highlights how structural factors—like supply chain dynamics, agricultural cycles, and energy markets—shape inflation across households and sectors (Eurostat).
Prices for processed foods, alcohol, and tobacco rose more slowly than fresh foods in some countries, with the gains in fresh items reaching about 15.4 percent, which was four tenths higher than January. By contrast, other food-related categories advanced by around 13.9 percent, indicating that price pressure in certain food groups remained elevated even as overall inflation cooled (Eurostat).
Non-energy industrial goods inflation increased modestly, by about one-tenth to 6.8 percent, while services costs rose by four-tenths to 4.8 percent. These movements reflect a broader pattern where separate channels of consumer spending respond differently to the same macro conditions, such as energy costs, labor markets, and demand for services, all contributing to the mixed inflation landscape across the EU (Eurostat).
Since October, inflation in the euro area has declined even as energy prices surged earlier that autumn. The latest data show that the drag from energy has lessened as other price components continued to rise. This divergence explains why the overall rate has moved down despite pockets of stubborn inflation that persist in certain goods and services (Eurostat).
Across EU member states, inflation eased in 15 countries while it rose in ten and remained unchanged in two. The disparities reflect varied economic structures, energy dependencies, exchange rate dynamics, and national policies that influence consumer prices differently from one country to another (Eurostat).
Geographic patterns emerge when looking at country-specific figures. Luxembourg, Belgium, and Spain posted some of the lower inflation readings, while Greece, Cyprus, Malta, France, Finland, and Denmark showed higher but still contained levels relative to the EU average. Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, and Italy all reported readings near or above the 8 to 10 percent range, illustrating how inflation pressures are not uniform across the bloc (Eurostat).
Among larger economies, several countries exceeded the EU average in February, though many remained below a ten percent pace. Austria, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Hungary showed double-digit price growths that pointed to ongoing inflationary pressures beyond the six major economies. The spread underscores the challenge for policy makers who must balance price stability with supporting growth within diverse national contexts (Eurostat).
Overall, the February data reinforce a narrative of retreat from the peak inflation observed in the autumn months, while also revealing the uneven nature of the decline. Energy has cooled somewhat as a driver, but core and services inflation continue to present constraints in several member states, shaping the policy debate about how quickly the EU can return to more stable price levels (Eurostat).