(Technical rehearsal)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Eurozone price inflation stabilized in August, ending four consecutive months of decline, under pressure from high food prices, shows the first estimate from Eurostat, the European institute for the statistic, released Thursday.
The consumer price index calculated according to European standards (HICP) rose by 5.3% over one year this month in the 20 countries sharing the European currency, after 5.3% in July.
Economists polled by Reuters expected inflation to decelerate to 5.1%.
Excluding the more volatile items of unprocessed food and energy, inflation slowed to 6.2% from 6.6% last month and a consensus of 6.3%.
The rise in prices excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco also decreased, falling to 5.3% after 5.5% in July and a consensus of 5.3%.
The slowdown in underlying inflation could support expectations of the European Central Bank (ECB) pausing in its rate hike cycle in September, when just over 40% of investors believed that the rate guideline will be raised at the next monetary policy meeting, before the publication of the inflation indicator.
(Writing by Corentin Chapron, editing by Kate Entringer)
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