EuroWire, VIENNA: Austria’s annual inflation rate rose to 2.2% in February 2026, up from 2.0% in January, according to a flash estimate from Statistics Austria. Consumer prices increased 0.8% from the previous month on a preliminary basis, the agency said. The February reading marked a modest acceleration after inflation cooled sharply at the start of the year, as the national statistics office continued to track price changes across a broad basket of goods and services purchased by households.
Services remained the main driver of inflation in February, with prices rising 4.0% from a year earlier after a 3.8% increase in January, Statistics Austria said. Energy prices fell 4.1% year on year, a smaller decline than January’s 4.9% drop, meaning energy dampened overall inflation less than in the prior month. Prices for food, tobacco and alcohol climbed 3.0%, faster than the 2.7% rise recorded in January, with cigarettes cited as a notable source of increases.
The flash estimate also showed core inflation, defined as industrial goods and services combined, holding at 2.8% in February. Using its special aggregates, Statistics Austria reported industrial goods rising 0.7% year on year, while services carried the largest estimated impact on the headline rate. The statistics office said flash estimates are compiled from the price information available at the end of the reference month and can differ from the full monthly release after validation and late price reports.
Energy and services lift prices
January’s inflation rate was confirmed at 2.0% in Statistics Austria’s full release published in late February, after inflation stood at 3.8% in December 2025. In January 2026, the consumer price index reached 100.6 points with 2025 as the base year, and the average price level fell 0.7% compared with December. Statistics Austria said electricity price developments reduced inflation markedly, citing year-on-year effects and lower electricity taxes, while fuel and heating oil also dampened price pressures.
In the January breakdown, restaurants and accommodation services had the strongest upward impact, rising 4.9% from a year earlier, including a 5.4% increase in food and beverage serving services and a 3.8% rise in accommodation services. Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased 2.6%, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 1.0% overall even as electricity, gas and other fuels declined. Transport prices rose 0.2%, with fuels down 6.5% year on year.
EU-comparable measure and timing
On the harmonised measure used for comparisons across the European Union, Statistics Austria estimated Austria’s HICP inflation at 2.3% in February, with prices up 0.8% from January. The agency said differences between the CPI and HICP mainly reflect weighting, with the HICP also covering expenditure by foreign tourists. Separately, Eurostat’s flash estimate put euro area annual inflation at 1.9% in February, up from 1.7% in January, with services posting the highest annual rate among the main components.
Statistics Austria said the flash estimate provides early insight but is not a substitute for the full CPI and HICP results, and it said the preliminary figures should not be used for contractual value adjustments. The statistics office said the index level of the consumer price index and further detailed results for February 2026 will be published on March 18, 2026.