Inflation in the euro zone was reduced to a greater extent than expected on an annual basis in January, moving further away from the record level in October, the statistical office of the European Union announced on Wednesday.

According to Eurostat’s preliminary data, inflation in the euro zone dropped to 8.5 percent in January from 9.2 percent in December, after reaching a record level of 10.6 percent in October and 10.1 percent in November.

The average analyst expectation was 9 percent for January, reports MTI.

Consumer prices in euros decreased by 0.4 in January compared to December, when a regional decrease of 0.4 percent was also recorded.

Energy prices contributed the most to the increase in the annual price index in January. On an annual basis, energy prices increased by 17.2 percent in January, which is, however, a slowdown compared to December’s 25.5 percent.

• The price of food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products increased by 14.1 percent in January, at a higher rate than December’s 13.8 percent.
• Non-energy goods rose by 6.9 percent after December’s 6.4 percent.
• The price of services increased by 4.2 percent in January after 4.4 percent in December.

Excluding energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, the core inflation was 5.2 annual percent even after December in January.

As is known, in Hungary A 26-year record was set in Decemberwhen inflation was measured at 24.5 percent, which makes us European champions.