Eurozone Inflation Trends

According to a preliminary report by Eurostat released on Tuesday, the annual inflation rate in the euro area experienced a slight decrease from 2.3% in February to 2.2% in March. The monthly inflation rate for March was recorded at 0.6%.

Key Contributors to Inflation

The services sector emerged as the most significant contributor to the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with a notable increase of 3.4%. Following closely were food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.9%, and non-energy industrial goods at 0.6%.

Core CPI Insights

The core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, showed a year-on-year increase of 2.4% and a 1% rise since February. Slovakia, Estonia, and Croatia reported the highest inflation rates at 4.3%, while France recorded the lowest at 0.9%.