Euro Area HICP Inflation · % y/y

## What this measures

The euro area's headline consumer-price inflation — the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, all items, current euro-area composition, percent change against the same month a year earlier.

## Why it matters

This is the number the ECB's mandate is written against (2% over the medium term). Every deposit-rate decision is a reaction to where this series sits relative to two.

## How to read it

Against 2%, and against the deposit facility rate: the gap is the real policy stance. The flash estimate lands at month-end; the final print ~two weeks later, usually unchanged.

## What it does not say

Headline includes energy and food. A headline move on an oil swing says little about underlying price pressure — core (ex energy, food, alcohol, tobacco) is the ECB's working measure.

## Source

Eurostat `ei_cphi_m` (indic TOTAL, unit RT12, geo EA21). The legacy `prc_hicp_manr` dataset froze at 2025-12 when the index was rebased to 2025=100.