Euro area annual inflation was 2.0% in February 2017, up from 1.8% in January. In February 2016 the rate was -0.2%. European Union annual inflation was 1.9% in February 2017, up from 1.7% in January. A year earlier the rate was -0.1%. These figures come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In February 2017, the lowest annual rates were registered in Ireland (0.3%), Romania (0.5%), Bulgaria and Denmark (both 0.9%).

The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (3.4%), Belgium (3.3%), Latvia and Lithuania (both 3.2%). Compared with January 2017, annual inflation fell in three Member States and rose in twenty-four.

The largest upward impacts to euro area annual inflation came from fuels for transport (+0.60 percentage points), vegetables (+0.25 pp) and heating oil (+0.16 pp), while telecommunication (-0.10 pp), garments (-0.07 pp) and gas (-0.06 pp) had the biggest downward impacts.