The Consumer Price Index (CPI), also known as the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the Euro area, is a measure of consumer price inflation. It represents the change over time in the prices of consumer goods and services purchased by households in the Euro area.

The Euro Area saw an uptick in its Consumer Price Index (CPI), moving from 123.85 points in November 2023 to 124.05 points in December 2023. The CPI in this region has held an average of 92.24 points from 1996 through 2023. It peaked at 124.54 points in October 2023, marking an all-time high, while its lowest point was recorded in January 1996 at 70.97 points.
In December 2023, the annual inflation rate in the Euro Area rose to 2.9%, a jump from the 2.4% recorded in November 2023. When examining the primary components of inflation in the Euro Area, food, alcohol & tobacco experienced the highest annual rate in December at 6.1%, a slight decrease from 6.9% in November. This was followed by services at a steady 4.0%, non-energy industrial goods at 2.5% (down from 2.9% in November), and energy at -6.7%, an improvement from -11.5% in November.

Each of these components contributes differently to the overall inflation in the Euro Area. In 2023, services made up the largest portion of the headline Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), accounting for approximately 43.5% of household final monetary consumption expenditure in the Euro Area. Non-energy industrial goods followed at around 26.3%. Food, alcohol & tobacco, and energy made up around 20.0% and 10.2%, respectively. Despite comprising less than a third of Euro Area expenditure, these components can significantly impact headline inflation due to their price fluctuations.