Greece: Inflation picks up in December from November
Latest reading: Harmonized consumer prices rose 2.9% in annual terms in December, following a 2.8% rise in the prior month. The reading remained above the EU average for a second straight month.
Relative to the prior month’s data, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.8% on a year-on-year basis vs +3.0% in November), transportation (+1.8% vs +0.7% in November) and recreation (+1.5% vs +1.2% in November). In contrast, there were milder price pressures for housing and utilities (+3.9% vs +4.7% in November) and restaurants and hotels (+5.2% vs +6.3% in November).
Meanwhile, consumer prices increased 2.6% in annual terms in December, following a 2.4% increase in the previous month.
Finally, harmonized consumer prices increased 0.13% in December on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.06% fall in the previous month.