Euro zone prices grow faster than expected in December

Euro zone consumer prices grew faster than expected in December, an estimate from the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed on Wednesday, driven mainly by higher costs of energy, as well as food, alcohol and tobacco and services. Eurostat said prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 1.1 percent year-on-year last month, sharply accelerating from a 0.6 percent annual, increase in November and 0.5 percent in October. The European Central Bank wants to keep inflation below, but