In Frankfurt, industrial group Thyssenkrupp and pharmaceutical company Merck led the DAX lower, falling 1.4% and 1.3% respectively, followed by semiconductor company Infineon Technologies, which dropped 1%, and industrial gasses company Linde, and automaker Volkswagen which were off 0.9% each. The FTSE lost 0.72%, the DAX dipped 0.06%, and the CAC-40 gained 0.15%. Among the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in January, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco, services, and non-energy industrial goods.