Flash estimate - December 2011 Euro area inflation estimated at 2.8%

STAT/12/1

4 January 2012

Flash estimate - December 2011
Euro area inflation estimated at 2.8%

Euro area1 annual inflation2 is expected to be 2.8% in December 2011 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. It was 3.0% in November3.

Computation of flash estimates

Euro area inflation is measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). To compute the MUICP flash estimates, Eurostat uses early price information relating to the reference month from Member States for which data are available4 as well as early information about energy prices.

The flash estimation procedure for the MUICP combines historical information with partial information on price developments in the most recent months to give a total index for the euro area. No detailed breakdown is available. Experience has shown the procedure to be reliable (21 times exactly anticipating the inflation rate and 3 times differing by 0.1 over the last two years). Further information can be found in Eurostat News Release 113/2001 of
5 December 2001.

Scheduled publication dates

• The Member States participating in the euro area are Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

• Annual inflation is the price change between the current month and the same month of the previous year.

• See News Release 189/2011 of 15 December 2011.

• The MUICP flash estimate usually includes early price information representing approximately 95% of the euro area total consumption expenditure weight (see News Release 53/2006 of 28 April 2006).

Eurostat News Releases on the internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Selected Principal European Economic Indicators: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/euroindicators