Eurozone inflation moderated by lower than anticipated in February regardless of quickly easing power costs, including to indicators that value pressures are extra persistent than beforehand thought.
Shopper costs rose 8.5% in February in contrast with the identical month a yr earlier, easing barely from a 8.6% annual enhance in January, preliminary information from the European Union’s statistics company Eurostat confirmed Thursday.
The studying exceeds the 8.2% consensus forecast from economists polled by The Wall Road Journal.
The decline in inflation was pushed by moderating power costs, which elevated by 13.7% on yr in February, slowing from a 18.9% on-year rise in January.
Nevertheless, meals costs elevated 15% on yr, greater than the 14.1% rise a month earlier. Inflation of each nonenergy industrial items and for companies additionally gained tempo, the information confirmed.
The core annual inflation charge–which strips out the extra risky classes of meals and power, and one of many key information for the European Central Financial institution to contemplate at coverage selections–accelerated to five.6% in February from 5.3% in January, reaching a document excessive.
The European Central financial institution is anticipated to extend rates of interest by one other 50 foundation factors at its subsequent assembly on March 16 as value pressures stay excessive and the economic system has averted a recession to this point.
Buyers are ramping up their expectations for the place they anticipate eurozone rates of interest to peak because of current feedback from European Central Financial institution policymakers, excessive inflation and a comparatively resilient economic system.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
