Eurozone: Inflation falls in January

According to a preliminary release by Eurostat on 1 March, harmonized inflation is expected come in at 1.5% in February, a notch above January’s 1.4% reading but still below the European Central Bank’s target rate of near, but under, 2.0%. February’s uptick reflected increasing prices for energy, and food, alcohol and tobacco products. In the meantime, core inflation, which excludes out volatile energy and unprocessed foods prices, remained unchanged at 1.2% in January.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants see inflation in the Euro area averaging 1.6% in 2019. For 2020, panelists expect inflation to also average 1.6%.