Inflation also rose for the first time in six months in April, giving the European Central Bank more justification for raising interest rates at its meeting on Thursday.
The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, reported on Tuesday that total price inflation in the 20 eurozone countries fell from around 7% in April to 6.9% in March, in line with expectations. economists polled by Reuters.
The International Monetary Fund had indicated in earlier forecasts last week that inflation in the region would not approach the target until 2025.
Inflation has slowed sharply from double-digits at the end of last year, but is still well above the European Central Bank’s 2% target, again making it necessary to raise interest rates and the magnitude of this increase is a matter of debate, as the estimates of central bank policymakers vary, with the size of European debt standing between 25 and 50 basis points.
Earlier, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde confirmed that inflation in the euro zone will continue to decline in the coming months, thanks to lower energy prices and higher interest rates. interest, warning at the same time that these anticipations are surrounded by “a great deal of uncertainty.”
In turn, European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos acknowledged in remarks last week that core inflation in the European single currency area has proven to be very strong, adding that inflation could be more persistent than the markets had anticipated. .
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