Friday, March 31, 2023, 4:25 p.m.
Inflation has given the Eurozone economy a breather. Prices, which had remained higher than expected in February with a rate of 8.5%, have fallen to 6.9% this month. According to data published this Friday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), this setback is due to the collapse in the price of energy, which has fallen from 13.7% in February to 0.9% in one month.
Analysts and the European Central Bank, however, remain concerned about inflationary pressures from food. These products have increased four tenths compared to February and now reach 15.4%. Services are also more expensive (5%). All in all, the March rate is slightly better than expected, as experts estimated that it would be around 7.1%.
Spain continues to be one of the economies of the common currency with the lowest inflation and this has been reduced by almost half in March, going from 6% in February to 3.1% this month. Prices fell in all European countries, including the Baltics, where inflationary pressures have been strongest. The most recent ECB estimates, from the beginning of March, place inflation at 5.3% by the end of this year. Furthermore, prices are expected to gradually decrease due to falling energy costs and drop to 2.9% next year and 2.1% in 2025.