by Baystreet Staff
Bay Street
Inflation across Europe rose for a third consecutive month in December to reach an annualized 2.4%, according to statistics agency Eurostat.
The December reading was in line with the consensus forecasts of economists polled by the Reuters news agency and marked an increase from 2.2% in November.
Core inflation remained unchanged at 2.7% for a fourth month, also meeting economists’ expectations. However, services inflation increased to 4% from 3.9%.
The latest rise in consumer prices will be closely watched by the European Central Bank (ECB), which is expected to lower interest rates from 3% to 2% throughout this year.
Inflation in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, hit a higher-than-expected 2.9% in December. At the same time, inflation in France came in at 1.8%, below forecasts calling for a 1.9% rise.