BRUSSELS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 5.1 percent in January thanks to spiraling energy prices, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on Wednesday.
The figure broke a record of 5 percent in December.
According to Eurostat, soaring energy prices continued to drive inflation in the 19-country eurozone, which rose 28.6 percent compared with 25.9 percent in December. Hefty increases in the price of food, alcohol and tobacco also contributed to the increase in consumer prices, reaching 3.6 percent compared with 3.2 percent in December.
The cost of services remained stable compared to December, at 2.4 percent, while non-energy industrial goods dropped to 2.3 percent from 2.9 percent in December.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 2.3 percent in January from 2.6 percent in December.
By country, Lithuania was expected to see the highest price increases, with an inflation rate of 12.2 percent, followed by Estonia (11.7 percent) and Belgium (8.5 percent).
The indicator is well above the European Central Bank's (ECB) inflation target of two percent. ECB President Christine Lagarde has said much of the inflation is tied to temporary factors that should eventually fade.
ING's senior economist Bert Colijn said that while energy inflation movements are very difficult to predict, he expected this to improve from Spring onwards.
The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. ■
