Headline inflation in the Irish economy moderated to less than 3 per cent in December.
The latest flash estimate for the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) put the annualised rate of price growth at 2.7 per cent in December, down from 3.1 per cent in November.
Inflation across the wider euro zone was clocked at 2.1 per cent in November. Eurostat will publish figures for December shortly.
A breakdown of the components for Ireland indicates that energy prices were estimated to have fallen by 0.3 per cent in December and to have risen by 2.4 per cent over the 12 months to December.
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Food prices are estimated to have decreased by 0.1 per cent in the last month and increased by 4 per cent in the last 12 months.
Grocery price inflation is a key pressure point for households and has also led to an acceleration in restaurant costs.
Transport costs grew by 1.7 per cent in the month and rose by 0.3 per cent in the 12 months to December, the CSO said.
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Inflation as measured by the HICP, which is different from the CSO’s official barometer of inflation – the CPI (consumer price index) – had fallen to almost zero at the end of last year on the back of falling energy prices.
But food price inflation, a reflection of higher farming costs, has pushed the headline rate up again.
Economists have warned that statistical base effects would see inflation temporarily increase in the second half of 2025.
With headline inflation for the euro zone hovering at 2 per cent, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target rate, Frankfurt has halted a series of interest rate reductions.
Last month, it kept interest rates unchanged again for a fifth successive meeting, with ECB chief Christine Lagarde insisting monetary policy was in a “good place”.
