Preliminary data published by Eurostat showed that the eurozone annual inflation slowed in June, confirming economists' forecasts. Meanwhile, core inflation remained unchanged, while economists had expected a slight decline. Overall, the latest data is likely to reinforce concerns among some ECB policymakers that domestic price pressures may remain high. Last month, the ECB cut interest rates by 0.25%, but did not commit to any next steps, arguing that it still lacks confidence that inflation was on track to target.
According to the report, the consumer price index rose by 2.5% per year after increasing by 2.6% per year in May. Economists also expected an increase of 2.5%. Meanwhile, on a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.2% after a similar increase in May.
Eurostat reported that the core consumer price index - excluding energy, food, alcohol & tobacco - rose by 2.9% per year, as in May. Economists had expected an increase of 2.8% per annum.
The data showed that the annual growth of the overall consumer price index was due to an increase in the cost of services (+4.1% vs. +4.1% in May), food, alcohol & tobacco (+2.5% vs. +2.6%), non-energy industrial goods (+0.7% vs. +0.7%) and energy (+0.2% vs. +0.3%).