Measured by Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP), consumer prices in the EU28 dropped 0.5% in January from the same month of 2014. In December 2014 they slid by 0.1%.
Consumer prices in Croatia dropped 0.6% compared to January 2014, similar to the EU average. In December 2014, consumer prices in Croatia dropped 0.1%.
As many as 23 member countries saw negative inflation rates in January, with Greece recording the biggest drop in consumer prices, of 2.8%. Bulgaria follows with a 2.3% decline.
Consumer prices increased the most in Malta, by 0.8%, followed by Austria and Romania, with increases of 0.5%. Positive inflation rates were reported also by Sweden (0.4%) and Great Britain (0.3%).
The 0.6% decline in consumer prices in January is the biggest decline since July 2009. It was affected mostly by transport fuel prices, which cut the inflation rate by 0.77 percentage points, and prices of heating oil and telecommunications services.
On the monthly level, consumer prices in the EU sank 1.3%, their deepest decline since Eurostat started publishing these statistics. The decline was even deeper in the euro area, of 1.6%.
In Croatia consumer prices in January dropped 0.5% from the previous month.