At least the value was 0.8 points below that of 2022, when it was 8.6 percent. But 7.8 percent is regarding four times the ECB’s target of 2 percent, Statistics Austria pointed out on Wednesday. For December alone, the statistics authority reported an increase in inflation year-on-year to 5.6 percent, following 5.3 percent in December 2022.
“The decline in inflation was more pronounced in most other countries in the euro area in 2023,” emphasized Tobias Thomas, head of the authorities, in a press release on Wednesday. “More than half of 2023’s inflation is due to sharp price increases in restaurants, food, household energy and housing maintenance.” Lower fuel prices had a dampening effect on prices for the year as a whole. In relation to December, these caused an increase once more in this month of 2023 compared to 2022.
