inflation sinks barely to 2.8% – DW – 02/01/2024 | EUROtoday

Inflation charges within the Eurozone fell barely in January, the Eurostat statistics workplace in Luxembourg introduced on Thursday, protecting alive hypothesis about rate of interest cuts coming quickly.

Consumer costs in January elevated 2.8% in comparison with 2.9% in December.

Analysts had anticipated a barely greater drop to 2.7%, however the European Central Bank (ECB) continues to be pleased with progress in direction of its medium-term aim of two%.

“The pressure on prices is decreasing and this should continue to be the case in the months to come,” commented Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at Lichenstein’s VP Bank. “The ECB’s target of 2% should soon be in touching distance.”

Food and semiluxury items grew to become 5.7% dearer in January in comparison with the earlier yr, down from 6.1% in December. Energy costs additionally dropped considerably once more, though the speed of lower had slowed. Services, then again, have been up 4%.

Inflation drawback not solved but

“At first glance, it is encouraging that inflation has fallen again, but the price pressure on services has increased for the third month in a row,” stated Alexander Krüger of the non-public financial institution Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe in Frankfurt. “The inflation problem has not been solved yet.”

As for whether or not the ECB might quickly be ready to contemplate rate of interest cuts once more, Fritzi Köhler-Geib of the German state-owned funding growth financial institution KfW cautioned that the persevering with “fragile geopolitical environment” would lead it to attend.

One main such geopolitical issue is the persevering with disruption to industrial delivery within the Red Sea on account of assaults by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, affecting an estimated 12% of complete container transports.

But ECB chief economist Philip Lane stated that this has not affected inflation charges, partly as a result of international demand for items has additionally fallen in comparison with two years in the past, when there had been a squeeze.

mf/sms (Reuters, AP, dpa)