Eurozone Inflation Steady At 2.2%

Eurozone annual inflation remained stable in April, flash data from Eurostat showed on Friday.

The harmonized index of consumer prices grew 2.2 percent on a yearly basis in April, the same pace of increase as seen in March. Prices were expected to climb at a slower pace of 2.1 percent.

Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco increased more-than-expected to 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous month. Economists had forecast a rise of 2.5 percent.

Within the main components, services showed the highest annual increase of 3.9 percent. This was followed by a 3.0 percent rise in food, alcohol and tobacco prices. At the same time, non-energy industrial goods prices posted a steady increase of 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the decline in energy prices worsened to 3.5 percent from 1.0 percent in the previous month.

On a monthly basis, the HICP moved up 0.6 percent, data showed.