EMU August Headline Inflation Edges Higher, Core Unchanged

--Preliminary Data Sees EMU August HICP At 1.5% Y/Y

--Core Inflation At 1.2% y/y, Unchanged From July

     FRANKFURT (MNI) - Euro area August headline inflation inched higher from

the July print, while the stubbornly low core reading was unchanged, according

to preliminary data released by Eurostat on Thursday.

     The August headline reading of 1.5% on the year was a little above market

expectations centering on 1.4%, and higher than the 1.3% recorded in July.

     February saw the headline inflation number pushed through the European

Central Bank's official inflation target for the first time since January 2013.

     Excluding energy and unprocessed food, inflation came in at 1.2% on the

year in August, unchanged on July and a touch above the 1.1% seen in June.

     The results are considered estimates, with final data due out on September

18.

     Category data show that this month's data was driven by energy, with an

annual rate of 4.0% following on from July's 2.2% and May's 1.9%. Unprocessed

foods were unchanged at 0.6%, in line with July's reading and June's 1.0%.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

--MNI Paris Bureau; tel: +33 1-42-71-55-41; email: jack.duffy@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,MT$$$$,M$XDS$]