Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 0.9% in December 2009 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union . It was 0.5% in November.

Euro area inflation, the price change between the current month and the same month of the previous year, is measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). To compute the MUICP flash estimates, Eurostat uses early price information relating to the reference month from Member States for which data are available as well as early information about energy prices.

According to the figures published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat, it is expected that Euro area annual inflation will be 0.9% in December 2009, and it was 0.5% in November.

The flash estimation procedure for the MUICP combines historical information with partial information on price developments in the most recent months to give a total index for the euro area. No detailed breakdown is available. Experience has shown the procedure to be reliable (18 times exactly anticipating the inflation rate and 6 times differing by 0.1 over the last two years).