Annual inflation across the eurozone fell back to the single-digit territory and stood at 9.2% at the end of December, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat on Friday morning,  Eurostat reports. 

Inflation started easing in November but still stood at 10.1%.

It comes as gas prices, one of the main drivers behind last year's record-breaking inflation, returned to pre-war levels amid unusually warm weather.

Although the news can be seen as a positive development, the euro zone's inflation rate represents almost five times the 2% target set by the European Central Bank.

Spain (5.6%), Luxembourg (6.2%), and France (6.7%) recorded the lowest inflation rates across the bloc, while Latvia (20.7%), Lithuania (20%) and Estonia (17.5%) again saw the highest levels.

Energy inflation receded sharply, from 34.9% in November to 25.7% in December, while fresh food saw a more moderate contraction, from 13.8% to 12.% over the last month.

However, core inflation, which excludes the volatile prices of energy, food, and tobacco and therefore gives a more accurate picture of the state of the economy, increased from 5% in November to 5.2% in December.

In total, nine out of the 19 eurozone members remain in double-digit territory.

Croatia, which adopted the euro at the start of 2023, was not included in the computation.

The majority of member states that use the euro as currency saw inflation decrease over the past month, with a marked drop in Germany, from 11.3% in November to 9.6% in December.

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