Eurostat: All CEE countries have a higher level of inflation than the EU average. The inflation rate in Romania was 6.7% in December, below the level of Hungary and Poland

By Jerom Bolt
The annual inflation rate in the European Union rose to 5.3% in December from 5.2% in November 2021, with the highest member countries being Estonia (12%) and Lithuania (10.7%). , Poland (8%), Latvia (7.9%), Hungary (7.4%) and Romania (6.7%), according to data published on Thursday by Eurostat.
The annual inflation rate rose in December 2021 compared to November 2021 in 18 Member States, fell in seven other countries and remained stable in two countries, namely France and Romania, where the annual inflation rate remained stable at 6.7%.
In the euro area, the annual inflation rate rose to a record 5% in December from 4.9% in November. Compared to a year ago, the inflation rate in the euro area was minus 0.3%. For the eurozone countries, the most significant impact on the annual increase in prices came from energy, where there was an increase of 2.46 percentage points, followed by prices for services which increased by 1.02 percentage points.
Eurostat data also show that core inflation in the euro area, ie what remains after the elimination of prices for volatile goods, such as energy and food, has risen by 0.4% month-on-month and by 2.7% on an annual basis. Also, an indicator that, in addition to energy and food prices, excludes cigarette prices, rose by 2.6% year on year. Core inflation is the indicator closely monitored by the ECB in making its monetary policy decisions.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that inflation in the eurozone will stabilize and gradually decline over 2022. “According to our December estimates, inflation will be 3.2% in 2022,” he said. Christine Lagarde.
In the case of Romania, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) previously reported that the annual inflation rate rose to 8.19% in December 2021, from 7.8% in November, given that non-food goods became more expensive with 10.73%, food goods with 6.69%, and services with 4.49%. The NIS specified that the harmonized index of consumer prices in December 2021 compared to November 2021 is 100.51%.
The annual inflation rate in December 2021, compared to December 2020, calculated on the basis of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is 6.7%.
According to the latest Inflation Report of the National Bank of Romania, published in November, the annual rate of CPI inflation was projected at 7.5% in December 2021 and is expected to temper to 5.9% by the end of this year.