Inflation in the Eurozone accelerated last month, supporting the European Central Bank's position to adopt a gradual interest rate cut approach, which will not disrupt the central bank's rate-cutting process. In December, consumer prices rose by 2.4% year-on-year, higher than November's 2.2%, aligning with the median forecast from surveys. The EU Statistics Office stated that the acceleration in prices is mainly driven by energy costs, with energy costs rising for the first time since July. The core inflation rate, excluding these volatile factors, stands at 2.7%. Prices in the service sector slightly increased to 4%. The European Central Bank has repeatedly warned that the path to returning inflation to the 2% target will not be smooth, so this data is not unexpected for the bank. It is anticipated that inflation will sustainably return to target levels by the end of the year. Recent data has shown that price increases in Germany and Spain have exceeded expectations, while the rise in France was below expectations, and inflation in Italy unexpectedly slowed down. Another report from the European Central Bank indicated that consumer inflation expectations rose in November.