Eurozone December consumer prices at 2.4% ↑...Upside for 3rd Month

Consumer inflation in 20 countries using the euro, the euro zone, rose 2.4% last month (December) from a year ago, EU statistics body Eurostat said.

Since rebounding to 2.0% in October last year, the gains have widened for three consecutive months to 2.2% in November and 2.4% in December.

By item, energy prices, which had been on the decline, rebounded 0.1% for the first time in five months since July last year, driving inflation.

Service inflation was the steepest at 4.0%, with food, alcohol and tobacco up 2.7% and industrial products up 0.5%.

By country, Germany and Spain each beat expectations by 2.8%, while France fell by 1.8% and Italy fell by 1.4%.

Earlier, the European Central Bank expected to meet its mid- to long-term inflation target of 2% by the end of this year, but warned that the process would not be easy.