Eurozone's inflation rises to 2.3% in November

Eurozone's annual inflation rate for November is expected to reach 2.3 percent, up from 2 percent in October, according to a flash estimate released on Friday by Eurostat, reported Xinhua.

The price of services remains the primary driver of inflation in the eurozone, with year-on-year inflation at 3.9 percent, and the annual inflation rate for food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.8 percent.

Non-energy industrial goods registered an annual inflation rate of 0.7 percent in November, up from 0.5 percent in the previous month.

Among the eurozone countries, Belgium recorded the highest inflation rate for November at 5 percent, followed by Croatia at 4 percent, with both Estonia and the Netherlands at 3.8 percent.

For the larger economies, France's inflation rate in November stood at 1.7 percent, while Spain's inflation rose to 2.4 percent and Germany's remained stable at 2.4 percent.

"We expected November's data to show an increase in headline inflation due to base effects, but some upward pressure from input prices is becoming more significant," said Bert Colijn, chief economist at ING.

Factors contributing to the November inflation rate include rising food and gas prices, as well as the weakening of the euro against the dollar.

However, weak demand in the eurozone is expected to be a key factor in moderating inflation next year, according to Colijn.

"While December is likely to show another high headline inflation figure, we expect moderation in early 2025," said the ING economist, adding that easing pressures from services inflation could be observed in the coming months.