Eurozone August Inflation Rises As Estimated

Eurozone August Inflation Rises As Estimated


Eurozone inflation increased as initially estimated to 2.6 percent in August, final data issued by Eurostat showed Friday. The rate rose from 2.4 percent in July.
The central bank aims to retain inflation rates below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term. Month-on-month, consumer prices were up 0.4 percent, in line with economists' expectations.
Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, meanwhile, slowed to 1.5 percent from 1.7 percent. The rate was forecast to stay stable at 1.7 percent.
In EU27, annual inflation climbed to 2.7 percent from 2.5 percent a month ago. The lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden and Greece. Meanwhile, Hungary logged the highest rate of 6 percent, followed by Cyprus with 4.5 percent.