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Euro-Area Core Inflation Revised Up to 1.3%, Highest Since 2017
2019-05-17 09:00:04.309 GMT

By Fergal O'Brien
(Bloomberg) — Euro-area core inflation was revised higher
in April, and is now showing the fastest reading since 2017.
Updating its estimate for last month, Eurostat said the
rate of underlying price growth was 1.3%, up from 1.2% in an
initial estimate. The April reading was far higher than the 0.8%
seen in March, but the big jump partly reflects the timing of
Easter and its traditional impact on services such as airfares,
package holidays and hotels.
Despite the increase, core inflation remains in a tight
range and 1.3% has been a ceiling it hasn’t broken through in
almost four years. The last higher reading was 1.5% back in
October 2015.
The European Central Bank, which wants inflation to be just
below 2% on a sustainable basis, has delayed plans for interest-
rate cuts to provide more support to the economy. It’s also
planning new loans for banks and will probably announce more
details on those early next month.
The headline inflation rate was 1.7% in April, unchanged
from the initial estimate.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net