On February 2, 2024, in Catania, Italy, a salesman was preparing a bag of candies for customers in the Sicilian confectionery store Mazzone.
Villa Fabrizio | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Preliminary data released on Friday showed that the inflation rate in the 20 euro zone countries fell back to 2.6% in February, but the overall data and core data were higher than expected.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast overall growth of 2.5%.
After excluding volatile components such as energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, core inflation was 3.1%, higher than the 2.9% expected.
The key figure for January was 2.8%, with further easing expected after price rises cooled in Germany, France and Spain.
Investors are looking for clues on when the European Central Bank will start cutting interest rates, with markets pricing in a rate cut in June. However, many ECB officials still stressed that they need to complete spring wage negotiations to get a clearer picture of domestic inflationary pressures.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
