Austria Inflation Rises Slightly To 2.2%

(RTTNews) - Austria's consumer price inflation increased somewhat in February from a 13-month low in the previous month, a flash estimate from Statistics Austria showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index climbed 2.2 percent year-over-year in February, faster than the 2.0 percent increase in January.

Moreover, the inflation rate is now just above the European Central Bank's stability target of 2.0 percent.

The rise in inflation was mainly due to a 4.0 percent increase in costs for services in February versus a 3.8 percent growth in January. The price decline in energy softened to 4.1 percent from 4.9 percent, which also had an upward effect on overall inflation.

On the other hand, inflation based on food, tobacco, and alcohol rose to 3.0 percent from 2.7 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices decreased 0.8 percent.

The EU measure of the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose at a faster pace of 2.3 percent versus a 2.0 percent increase in January. Monthly, the HICP climbed 0.8 percent.