Eurozone inflation eased in August: revised EU data

BRUSSELS: Eurozone inflation slowed slightly in August, the EU statistics agency said on Tuesday, revising its previous figure.

Consumer prices in the 20-country single currency area fell to 5.2 percent in August from 5.3 percent in July, according to Eurostat.

The agency had previously put August inflation at 5.3 percent.

Eurostat also said food and drink prices rose by 9.7 percent in August, revising its 9.8 percent figure published on August 31.

Inflation across the 27-nation European Union reached 5.9 percent in August, down from 6.1 percent in July, the data showed.

The revision will be welcome, but inflation is still far above the European Central Bank’s official target of two percent despite an unprecedented series of rate hikes.

The ECB raised its key interest rates by another 25 basis points on Thursday, but a bank official suggested they were now at levels that could be enough to tame inflation.

The European Commission last week forecast inflation in its latest outlook to reach 5.6 percent in 2023 and 2.9 percent in 2024.