ECB officials must have greeted the latest inflation numbers with a sigh of relief. Overall, euro zone inflation slowed for the first time in one-and-a-half years, dropping to 10% year-on-year in November, which is below both the 10.4% median estimate and the 10.6% rate from the previous month.

But on the member-state level, the November results are a mixed bag. The Baltics all hovered over 20% in November, recording minor decreases from the month before. Major economies like Germany and Italy both saw their double-digit rates modestly decrease, from 11.6 to 11.3% and 12.6 to 12.5% respectively. French inflation remained stuck at 7.1%, and Spain and the Netherlands recorded significant dips of 7.3 to 6.6% and 16.8 to 11.2% respectively.