Finland Times

The report released here on Thursday said that the consumer price was still pushed up most from the previous year by risen prices of food and transport.

The preliminary data of the study also said that the inflation rate in the euro area was 1.8 percent in February

 Food prices went up mostly due to higher prices of meat, fruit and dairy products. Transport prices increased mainly because of the raised vehicle tax. Increases in prices of restaurant and café services, in rents and in tobacco prices also had a great impact on inflation.

 The rising of consumer prices was curbed most in February by fallen interest rates and prices of telecommunication services from the year before. From January to February, consumer prices rose by 0.6 percent, primarily because prices of food went up.

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area was 1.8 per cent in February. In January, it was 2.0 per cent.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices does not include owner-occupancy, games of chance, interests on consumption and other credits, fire insurance on owner-occupied dwellings or the vehicle tax. The consumption items included in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, as well as the rules governing its compilation, have been defined in EU regulations.

Eurostat’s estimate of inflation in the euro area is based on preliminary data from the Member States and on the price development of energy. Eurostat will publish detailed data on Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices for January on 15 March, said the report quoting Eurostat (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat).