The HICP barometer of prices excluding energy is estimated to have increased by 5.2 per cent since January last year.
The EU’s statistical agency Eurostat will publish a flash estimate of inflation for the euro area as a whole on Wednesday in advance of the European Central Bank’s crunch rates meeting on Thursday.Inflation, economic volatility and war displace climate and cyber risks as top threats to businessEuro zone inflation was put at 9.2 per cent in December, down from 10.1 per cent the previous month.
The ECB’s main refinancing rate, which affects mortgage rates, has been lifted from zero to 2.5 per cent since last July.Frankfurt’s latest set of forecasts indicates it expects inflation to remain above its 2 per cent target rate for the next three years, out to 2025, driven by a range of factors, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact of pandemic-era stimulus.
About 200,000 tracker mortgage holders here can expect to see an almost immediate increase in their mortgage repayments after the ECB’s decision on Thursday.The latest flash estimate of prices in Ireland is a separate measure of price growth from the CSO’s consumer price index , which put headline inflation here at 8.2 per cent in December, down from 8.9 per cent the previous month.
IrishTimes