Inflation Across Euro-Zone Accelerates
Yearly inflation across the Eurozone managed to rise, as expected; to a 10 month recorded high of 0.9% during the month of December, from November's level of 0.5%, but the figure is much below the European Central Bank's target. The numbers have been confirmed by official data released by the European Union's Eurostat agency on Tuesday.
The "flash estimate" preliminary number of the highest recorded since February last year, but is well in-line with the expectations pegged by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswire last week.
The December figure's breakdown has not been made available.
In November, the inflation rose on the back of higher alcohol and tobacco prices and a slower fall in prices of energy products.
"As such, we continue to think the ECB will look through the pickup in headline inflation, and hence that today's data have little implication for euro area interest rates", Colin Ellis, a European economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe, said.