(Eurostat) Annual inflation rate rose to 5.9% in February from 5.1% the previous month, beating expectations of 5.8%. The inflation was a significant jump from 0.9% a year ago.
In the EU, the annual inflation was 6.2%, more than 5.6% posted in January, and an increase from a rate of 1.3% a year earlier.
Energy led the largest increase in annual inflation in the euro area, with a gain of 3.12 percentage points in February. Services rose by 1.04 percentage points, while food, alcohol, and tobacco inflation increased by 0.90 percentage points.
The highest annual inflation rates were posted in Lithuania, Estonia, and Czechia at 14.0%, 11.56%, and 10.0%, respectively. The lowest annual inflation rates were in Malta and France at 4.2%.
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