Eurozone inflation edged lower in December, with flash data showing headline CPI slowing from 2.1% to 2.0% yoy, undershooting expectations of 2.1%. Core inflation also eased, with CPI excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco falling from 2.4% to 2.3%, below the 2.4% consensus forecast.
Services remained the dominant source of price pressure, posting an annual rate of 3.4%, down slightly from 3.5% in November. Food, alcohol and tobacco inflation ticked higher to 2.6%.
Non-energy industrial goods inflation eased further to 0.4%. Energy prices remained a strong disinflationary force, with prices falling -1.9% yoy after a smaller decline in November.
