Brussels: Annual inflation in the eurozone fell below the European Central Bank's target in December 2025, according to figures released by the EU's statistics office, Eurostat.
Consumer prices across the single-currency bloc rose by 1.9% year on year in December, down from 2.1% in November and below earlier estimates that had pointed to a rate of 2%.
The decline was driven by easing underlying price pressures, with core inflation - which excludes volatile items such as energy and food - falling to 2.3% in December from 2.4% the previous month.
Eurostat said services continued to make the largest contribution to annual inflation, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco prices. However, falling energy prices helped pull down the overall inflation rate.
Economists say the drop signals a broader easing of price pressures across eurozone economies and places inflation below the ECB's medium-term target of 2%.
The figures are likely to be closely watched by policymakers as they assess the future path of interest rates amid slowing inflation and fragile economic growth in the bloc.
