Inflation in the euro zone dropped significantly in March as energy prices continued to fall, while core expenses picked up to an all-time high.

Headline inflation in the 20-member bloc came in at 6.9% in March, according to preliminary Eurostat figures released Friday. By comparison, in February , headline inflation stood at 8.5%.

The main reason for this 1.6 percentage point fall was the drop in energy costs.

However, there’s other parts of the inflation basket that remain stubbornly high. Food prices contributed the most to the overall inflation reading of March.

Core inflation — which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices — rose slightly from the previous month. It reached an all-time record of 5.7% in March, from 5.6% in February.