The annual inflation rate edged down to 4% in February 2026 from 4.1% in January, which was the steepest since June 2023. Prices slowed down a bit for some CPI items, including food & non-alcoholic beverages (5.4% vs 6.1% in January); alcoholic beverages & tobacco (9.4% vs 9.7%); miscellaneous goods & services (9.2% vs 9.3%); clothing & footwear (4.1% vs 4.3%) and furnishings & household equipment (4.8% vs 4.9%). Moreover, prices continued to fall for housing & utilities (-2.7% vs -2.8%) and communications (-1.2% vs -1.1%). Meanwhile, transport costs rose at a slightly faster 6.3%, compared to 6% in January. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.2%, after a 0.6% increase in the previous month.