At the end of 2022, inflation slowed further from a high level. According to a quick estimate by Statistics Austria, inflation stood at 10.2 percent in December, up from 10.6 percent in November and 11.0 percent in October, the authority announced on Thursday.
According to Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria, the main reasons for the recent drop are the electricity price brake that has been in place since December and the noticeably easing pressure on fuel prices.
Food prices continue to rise
In the case of food and gastronomy, on the other hand, the upward trend in prices continues. The harmonized inflation rate (HICP) calculated for comparisons with the eurozone for Austria was 10.5 percent in December according to a preliminary flash estimate. The European Central Bank (ECB) even sees an annual inflation rate of two percent as ideal.
The ECB slowed down somewhat in December and raised the key rate by 0.50 percentage point after two jumbo interest rate increases of 0.75 percentage point each. ECB President Christine Lagarde held out further rate hikes and indicated that the pace of hikes of half a percentage point is likely to be maintained at the next meetings.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
