EZ Inflation Stable At 0.9% in Feb

EZ FEB FINAL HICP +0.2% M/M, +0.9% Y/Y; JAN +0.9% Y/Y

EZ FEB FINAL CORE HICP +0.1% M/M; +1.1% Y/Y; JAN +1.4% Y/Y

• Headline EZ inflation remained at Jan's level of 0.9% in Feb, confirming the flash estimate and coming in line with market expectations.
• Core inflation eased to 1.1% in Feb, following Jan's increase to 1.4%.
• Price growth for food, alcohol and tobacco, services and non-energy industrial goods slowed in Feb, while energy inflation improved to -1.7%, up from -4.2% seen in Feb.
• Nevertheless, energy prices shaved off 0.15pp of price growth in Feb.
• Prices for services rose by 1.2%, contributing 0.55pp to price growth, while food inflation, ticking up 1.3%, added 0.29pp to CPI growth.
• Non-energy industrial goods prices slowed to 1.0%, down from 1.5% seen in Jan, contributed 0.26pp to CPI.
• Among the member states, Greece (-1.9%), Slovenia (-1.1%) and Cyprus (-0.9%) posted the lowest annual rates, while the Netherlands (+1.9%), Germany (+1.6%) and Austria (+1.4%) recorded the largest gains.

Source: Eurostat