Annual inflation in the euro area fell from 2.3% in February to 2.2% in March, according to a preliminary report by Eurostat published on Tuesday. Monthly inflation in March was measured at 0.6%. Services contributed the most to the increase in the consumer price index (CPI) with 3.4%, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco at 2.9% and non-energy industrial goods at 0.6%.

The core CPI, measuring inflation excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose by 2.4% year-on-year and 1% since February. The highest inflation was recorded in Slovakia, Estonia and Croatia at 4.3%, while the lowest was in France at 0.9%.