Eurozone Consumer Prices Jump 2.4%

Consumer prices in the Eurozone rose by 2.4 percent in January compared to the same month one year ago. The sharp jump in prices is being attributed to higher energy and commodity costs and is sure to be a central discussion when the European Central Bank (ECB) meets later this week.

Tasked with keeping inflation below a two percent target, there is growing speculation that the ECB may hike interest rates to ease the pace of spending and slow the rate of growth within the economy. Most economists believe a rate increase at this time is remote however, as growth is expected to slow in the aftermath of wide-ranging government spending cuts.

“As the temporary boost from higher food and energy prices begins to reverse, we expect the headline rate of inflation to fall back to well below the ECB’s 2 per cent ceiling,” said Ben May, European economist at Capital Economics.

Source: BBC News

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.