On April 1, 2024, Rome, Italy, two women sat at an outdoor table in a cafe, holding umbrellas.
Emanuele Cremaschi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
According to preliminary data released on Wednesday, the inflation rate in the 20 euro zone countries fell to 2.4% in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected interest rates to be unchanged from last month at 2.6%.
The core rate, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 2.9% from 3.1%, also lower than expected.
Inflation in the services sector, which the European Central Bank focuses on, reached 4% for the fifth consecutive month.
price increased from France and Spain Last week’s data came in below expectations. On Tuesday, headline inflation in the EU’s largest economy Germanyestimated at a three-year low of 2.2%.
Another indicator released by the European Central Bank on Wednesday was that the euro zone unemployment rate was 6.5% in February, the same as in January but lower than the 6.6% in February 2023.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated soon.
