Forexpros – Consumer price inflation in the euro zone eased unexpectedly in January, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.6% in January, down from a preliminary estimate of 2.7%. Analysts had expected euro zone consumer prices to hold steady at 2.7%.
The rate remains above the European Central Bank’s target of near but just below 2%.
Month-on-month, consumer prices fell by 0.8%, in line with expectations, after rising 0.3% in December.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs, slowed to a seasonally adjusted 1.5%, down from an estimate of 1.6% and confounding expectations for a gain of 1.8%.
Following the release of the data, the euro was largely unchanged against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.01% to trade at 1.3459.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.6%, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.9%, while London’s FTSE 100 eased up 0.05%.
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