Eurozone inflation steady at 2.2 percent in April. ECB: “Returning to benchmark target”

Brussels – In April, inflation was at the same level as in March for the Eurozone. According to Eurostat’s flash estimate, the cost of living should remain stable at 2.2 percent. This situation was made possible by the trend in energy (-3.5 percent, compared to -1 percent in March) and non-energy industrial goods (0.6 percent, stable compared to March). On the other hand, the cost for ‘services’ increased (3.9 percent, up from 3.5 percent in March), and for food and tobacco (3 percent, up from 2.9 percent in March). ​

Spain and Italy mirrored the general trend among the major eurozone economies, with unchanged indices from March (2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively). At the same time, inflation in Germany and France declined by 0.1 percentage points (to 2.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively). In sharp contrast were Latvia and the Netherlands, where inflation increased by 0.6 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively, with the cost-of-living rate double the European Central Bank’s benchmark target.

Final estimates are due on May 19, but in the meantime, the European Statistical Office confirms the trend observed by the European Central Bank, which, today (May 2), coinciding with Eurostat’s preliminary inflation data, published its Economic Bulletin. “Most measures of underlying inflation are pointing to a sustained return of inflation to the ECB’s 2 percent medium-term target,” the ECB wrote in its bulletin. Moreover, the Eurotower paper continues, “Most measures of longer-term inflation expectations continued to stand at around 2%, which supports the sustainable return of inflation to our target.“