In the Euro Area, producer prices remained below expectations in February, rising by 0.2 percent. The highest increase of 9.5 percent was recorded in Estonia. The European Statistics Office (Eurostat) released the Producer Price Index (PPI) data for the European Union (EU) and the Euro Area in February. According to the data, the Producer Price Index in the EU increased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month and by 3.1 percent compared to the same month last year. In the Euro Area, the PPI rose by 0.2 percent from the previous month and by 3 percent from the same month last year. Market expectations were for a 0.3 percent monthly increase in the Euro Area PPI. Among EU countries, Estonia saw the highest monthly increase in PPI at 9.5 percent, followed by Romania at 4.8 percent, and Bulgaria at 2.5 percent. In February, PPI decreased by 4.9 percent in Ireland, 0.8 percent in France and Slovakia, and 0.5 percent in Slovenia. Year-on-year, PPI increased by 19 percent in Bulgaria, 12.8 percent in Ireland, and 12.7 percent in Estonia, while it decreased by 5.6 percent in Luxembourg, 1.5 percent in Lithuania, and 1.4 percent in France.