Euro changeover has limited, one-off impact on prices, ECB says

The transition from the lev to the euro has so far had a limited and largely one-off impact on consumer prices, European Central Bank experts said in an analytical report.

According to the report, this preliminary assessment is consistent with earlier studies of euro adoption, which typically point to small, one-off effects concentrated in certain parts of the services sector.

The inflationary impact of the introduction of the single currency on January 1, 2026 is estimated at between 0.3 and 0.4 percentage points. Price increases were mainly concentrated in the services sector, with some recorded even before the transition.

At the same time, neither perceived inflation nor household inflation expectations were significantly affected by the changeover, the report said.

In the first months following the euro’s introduction, annual inflation continued to ease, falling from 3.5% in December to 2.3% in January and 2.1% in February.

Experts also reported a rise in public support for the single currency. Approval exceeded 50% in January and reached 54% in February, marking the first stable majority in recent years.

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Editor: Diana Tsankova