Brussels - Saba:
Official European data has showed that the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone fell to 2.2% in March, down from 2.3% in February.
Data released by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) on Wednesday indicated that the highest contribution to the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone came from the services sector, whose prices rose by 3.5% year-on-year. Energy prices resumed their decline, falling by 1% year-on-year, after rising for three months.
The data indicated that the annual inflation rate in the European Union reached 2.5% in March, down from 2.7% in February, with declines in 16 EU countries, stabilization in one country, and increases in ten countries.
The European Statistical Office, Eurostat, reported that the lowest annual rates were recorded in France (0.9 percent), Denmark (1.4 percent), and Luxembourg (1.5 percent), while the highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (5.1 percent), Hungary (4.8 percent), and Poland (4.4 percent).
The decline in annual inflation in the eurozone in March is expected to contribute to strengthening expectations of an interest rate cut during the European Central Bank's meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday.
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