Eurozone, October inflation slows to 2.1 percent. Half a point down in Italy

Brussels –In October, inflation in the eurozone is expected to fall slightly. According to Eurostat’s preliminary estimates, it is likely to stand at 2.1 percent, compared to 2.2 percent in September. There was an increase in services (3.4 percent, up from 3.2 percent in September), while an easing in food, alcohol, and tobacco (2.5 percent from 3 percent in September), non-energy industrial goods (0.6 percent from 0.8 percent in September), and energy (-1 percent, compared to -0.4 percent in September). 

As a result of this general trend, the cost of living in Italy is expected to fall by half a percentage point to 1.3 percent (from 1.8 percent in September). Inflation fell modestly in Germany (to 2.3 percent, -0.1 pp) and France (to 0.9 percent, -0.2 pp), while it rose in Spain (+0.2 pp, to 3.2 percent). 

The European Statistical Institute will publish full data on November 19, with preliminary estimates for December expected by the end of November. With the Governing Council of the European Central Bank scheduled to meet again on December 18 to decide on monetary policy and interest rates, there is all the time needed to gather the necessary data for the appropriate assessments in Frankfurt. In the meantime, the preliminary estimates for October send a signal that will likely make the ECB breathe a sigh of relief: food costs, a cause for concern within the Eurotower, are lower.