However, the impact of a change in oil prices will automatically be washed out of the inflation rate over time. And the recent rise in oil prices is helping to speed up this process somewhat. However, the low inflation rates in the euro area are not just an outcome of the fall in oil prices. Core inflation, i.e.
the price index adjusted to exclude energy and food prices, is likewise relatively low. The muted domestic price pressures measured in this manner also show that some euro-area economies are recovering only gradually and that unemployment levels in those countries are still very high.