Annual inflation across the eurozone eased further in December, slipping below the European Central Bank’s 2 percent benchmark, according to updated data released by Eurostat. Consumer prices in the single-currency bloc rose by 1.9 percent year on year in the final month of 2025, down from 2.1 percent in November. This confirmed a downward revision from Eurostat’s initial estimate, which had placed December inflation at exactly 2 percent. On a monthly basis, prices in the euro area increased by 0.2 percent.

A breakdown by main components shows that services continued to record the strongest annual price growth in December, at 3.4 percent, compared with 3.5 percent a month earlier. Food, alcohol and tobacco prices followed, rising by 2.6 percent year on year, up from 2.4 percent in November. Other components made smaller contributions, with non-energy industrial goods adding modestly to inflation, while energy prices exerted a downward effect.

Eurostat also reported a broader slowdown in inflation across the European Union as a whole. Annual inflation in the EU eased to 2.3 percent in December 2025, after standing at 2.4 percent in November. By comparison, the rate was notably higher at 2.7 percent in December 2024. Within the euro area, the December reading of 1.9 percent followed levels of 2.1 percent in November and 2.4 percent a year earlier.

In Bulgaria, inflation also moderated at the end of the year. The annual rate slowed to 3.5 percent in December from 3.7 percent in November, placing the country sixth among EU member states with the highest inflation. In December of the previous year, Bulgaria’s inflation rate was significantly lower, at 2.1 percent. On a monthly basis, consumer prices in Bulgaria rose by 0.1 percent in December.

Across the EU, the lowest annual inflation rates were recorded in Cyprus at 0.1 percent, France at 0.7 percent and Italy at 1.2 percent. At the opposite end of the scale, Romania registered the highest inflation at 8.6 percent, followed by Slovakia at 4.1 percent and Estonia at 4 percent. Compared with November, annual inflation declined in 18 member states, remained unchanged in three and increased in six.

Eurostat data show that in December the services sector was the main driver of annual inflation in the euro area, contributing 1.54 percentage points to the overall rate. Food, alcohol and tobacco added 0.49 percentage points, while non-energy industrial goods contributed 0.09 percentage points. Energy prices, by contrast, reduced overall inflation by 0.18 percentage points.

Monthly price movements varied widely across the bloc. Ireland recorded the largest month-on-month increase in consumer prices at 0.6 percent, followed by Austria at 0.5 percent. Spain and Belgium both saw monthly rises of 0.3 percent. At the same time, several countries experienced deflation in December. Denmark, Malta and Cyprus each reported a monthly price decline of 0.4 percent, while the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia posted decreases of 0.3 percent. Lithuania and Luxembourg followed with monthly falls of 0.2 percent.