Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.6% in December 2018, down from 1.9% in November 2018, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in December (5.5%, compared with 9.1% in November), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (1.8%, compared with 1.9% in November), services (1.3%, stable compared with November) and non-energy industrial goods (0.4%, stable compared with November).