Annual inflation in the eurozone unexpectedly remained stuck at 2.2 per cent in December amid a pickup in food costs, data released Friday showed. Analysts had expected the European Union statistics office Eurostat to say that inflation had slipped to 2.1 per cent, from 2.2 per cent in November. The official data could help fuel market concerns about renewed inflationary pressures in the 17-member currency bloc. The European Central Bank's rate-setting council is to meet for the first time in 2013 on Thursday and will look at the December figure, which left consumer prices above the ECB's target of an annual rate of 2 per cent. Still, both the ECB and analysts expect inflation to dip below the 2-per-cent mark this year as the economic downturn underway across the eurozone undercuts price pressures.
