FX.co ★ Eurozone inflation accelerates to 1.5% in August

Eurozone consumer prices rose by 1.5% on a yearly basis in August, Eurostat said. This marks the fastest pace of growth since April 2017. However, it is still below the European Central Bank’s target level of 2%.

In July, euro area’s consumer prices advanced by a 1.3% rate.

The August score matched the preliminary estimate and economists’ expectations.

On a monthly basis, prices edged up by 0.3% in August.

The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile energy prices, fresh food and alcohol prices, increased by an annualized 1.2%. The index matched the July pace of growth.

Energy prices rose by 4% year-over-year after a 2.2% increase in the previous month. Food prices, beverages and tobacco prices jumped by 1.4%, the same pace as in the prior month. Services costs saw a 1.6% rise in August.

In the EU member countries, inflation rose to 1.7% on a yearly basis and to 0.2% month-on-month.

At its latest monetary policy meeting, the European Central Bank left its inflation forecast for 2017 at 1.5% and cut inflation outlook for 2018 to 1.2% from 1.2% and to 1.5% from 1.6% for 2019.