Inflation in the 17-nation eurozone fell to 2 percent in January this year, down from 2.2 percent in December 2012, data from the statistics office of the European Union (EU) showed Thursday.

The figure was also sharply down from the 2.7-percent rate for the same month last year, Eurostat said in a statement.

For the 27-nation EU, the annual inflation was 2.1 percent in January 2013, down from 2.3 percent in the previous month, and also remarkable down from 2.9 percent in the same month last year.

In January 2013, the lowest annual inflation rates were observed in Greece at 0 percent, Portugal at 0.4 percent and Latvia at 0.6 percent, and the highest in Romania at 5.1 percent, Estonia at 3.7 percent and the Netherlands at 3.2 percent.

The largest upward impacts on euro area annual inflation in January 2013 came from electricity, vegetables and tobacco, while telecommunications, medical and paramedical services, and garments had the biggest downward impacts.

Inflationary pressures seemed to have eased in recent months. The European Commission last week released forecasts showing that the eurozone's annual inflation was expected to fall further to 1.8 percent in 2013.