Slovenia's annual inflation rate ran at 10% in January, 0.3 percentage points lower than the month before but still above consumer price growth recorded in the eurozone. Food prices were the main driver of inflation.

Fresh data from the Statistics Office shows that prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 19.3% year-on-year and increased by 2.1% in a month.

Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU-wide gauge, Slovenia's annual inflation rate in January was 9.9%, which compares to 8.5% in the eurozone, according to preliminary estimates.

However, that rate in Slovenia was almost one percentage point lower than the 10.8% measured in December.

Prices of goods increased by an average 11.1% and prices of services rose by 7.9% in a year. Non-durable goods prices went up the most, by 13.5%.

Higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 3.2 percentage points to the headline inflation rate.

Prices of services and products in the group recreation and culture rose by 10.1%, to add another percentage point to the headline rate.

The prices of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance rose by 12.3% and pushed inflation up by 0.9 points.

Prices of solid fuels rose by 97.5% and prices of services in restaurants and hotels by 12.1%. Each added 0.8 points to the headline rate.

From December to January, consumer prices rose by 0.2%, although in terms of the EU-comparable harmonised index Slovenia recorded 0.1% deflation month-on-month.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 0.4 percentage points to the monthly inflation, the most of all other groups.

Meanwhile, winter sales and cheaper petroleum products kept more substantial inflation at bay. Prices of clothing and footwear fell by 8.8% to reduce the headline rate by 0.6 points and lower petroleum prices reduced the rate by 0.4 points.

Aiming to reduce inflation, the European Central Bank has recently raised its interest rates for the fifth consecutive time, by 50 basis points, announcing another such increase to follow in March.

Boštjan Vasle, the governor of the Slovenian Central Bank and a member of the ECB Governing Council, has told the STA in an interview that they are determined to keep increasing interest rates as inflation is far from being tamed.