Inflation Sank in December to 10,2 Percent
The inflation rate continues to drop in Austria. After a reduction in November to 10,6 percent, inflation dropped even further in December to 10,2 percent. However, experts are slowing the enthusiasm down for the moment.
The Inflation Rate Dropped to 10.2 Percent in December. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Inflation slowed down to a high level at the end of 2022. According to a quick estimate by Statistics Austria, inflation in December was 10.2 percent, after 10.6 percent in November and 11.0 percent in October, the institution announced on Thursday. Director General of Statistics Austria Tobias Thomas said that the main reasons for the recent decline are the electricity price brake that has been in effect since December and the noticeably decreasing price pressure for fuel. In the case of food and gastronomy, on the other hand, the upward trend in prices continues, according to ORF.
According to Vienna.at, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) calculated the Eurozone comparisons for Austria was 10.5 percent in December according to a provisional flash estimate. The European Central Bank (ECB) sees an annual inflation rate of two percent as ideal. The ECB took its foot off the gas a bit in December and, after two large rate hikes of 0.75 percentage points each, raised key interest rates by 0.50 percentage points. ECB President Christine Lagarde held out the prospect of further interest rate hikes and signaled that the rate of hikes by half a percentage point would probably be maintained at the next meetings.
Experts around the world expect only a gradual decline in high global inflation. The global inflation rate is likely to average 7.1 percent in the new year and then fall to 5.8 percent in 2024, according to the quarterly survey published on Thursday by the Munich Ifo Institute and the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy. "The expectations at the beginning of the year are encouraging because the experts see slightly lower inflation rates compared to the previous quarter," said Ifo researcher Niklas Potrafke. "Nevertheless, inflation remains at a very high level." Even in the longer term - with a view to 2026 - the expectations remain comparatively high at 4.5 percent, as reported by ORF.