BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Austria's consumer price inflation accelerated slightly less than initially estimated in January to the highest level in eight months, the latest data from Statistics Austria showed on Tuesday.
The consumer price index climbed 3.2 percent year-over-year in January, faster than the 2.0 percent increase in December. In the flash estimate, the rate of inflation was 3.3 percent.
Further, this was the highest inflation since May 2024, when prices had risen the same 3.3 percent.
With this, the inflation rate is now well above the European Central Bank's stability target of 2.0 percent.
'The expiry of the electricity price cap, the increase in CO2 tax and grid fees for electricity and natural gas caused inflation in Austria to rise at the start of 2025,' Tobias Thomas, Director General Statistics of Statistics Austria, said.
Energy prices were 4.4 percent higher in January compared to a year ago, after having a dampening effect on prices in the previous months. Inflation based on transportation rose to 2.4 percent from 1.0 percent. Meanwhile, clothing and footwear prices dropped 1.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 1.0 percent, revised down from a 1.1 percent rise.
The EU measure of the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, also rose at a faster rate of 3.4 percent versus a 2.1 percent increase in December. The initial rate was 3.5 percent. Monthly, the HICP rose 0.9 percent, as estimated.
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