Eurozone inflation eases to 1.2% in April: Eurostat
(BRUSSELS) - Inflation across the 17-state eurozone eased further in April to 1.2 percent, comfortably below the European Central Bank's target of near-but-below two percent, official data showed Tuesday.
Taken as a whole, April marked the third month in a row that the average annualised rate of price rises throughout the currency area -- home to some 340 million people -- came in on target, after 1.7 percent in March and 1.8 percent in February, according to the EU's statistics office Eurostat.
Inflation has steadily declined over the year and this latest fall puts even more pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates when it meets on Thursday in an effort to boost a crisis-hit economy mired in recession and high unemployment.
Eurostat said prices for services fell to 1.1 percent against 1.8 percent in March, but those for food, drink and tobacco products were at their highest at 2.9 percent against 2.7 percent in March.
Energy prices toppled 0.4 percent against a 1.7 percent rise in March while industrial goods excepting energy fell to 0.8 percent against 1.0 percent the previous month.