In February, the annual inflation rate in the Euro Area decreased to 2.4%. The European Statistical Office (Eurostat) released the preliminary inflation data for the Euro Area in February. According to the data, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the Euro Area, which was 2.5% in January, decreased to 2.4% in February. On a monthly basis, the CPI increased by 0.5% in February. Market expectation was that the annual inflation would be 2.3% in February. In February, the core inflation in the Euro Area stood at 2.6% on an annual basis. When looking at the main components of inflation, the highest price increase was seen in the service sector with 3.7%. This was followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco products at 2.7%, non-energy industrial products at 0.6%, and energy products at 0.2%. In February, inflation was 5% in Estonia, 4.7% in Croatia, 4.4% in Belgium, and 4% in Slovakia. Annual inflation was at 2.9% in Spain, 2.8% in Germany, 1.7% in Italy, and 0.9% in France. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) aims for inflation to be at 2% in the medium term.