(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, AUG 31 - The annual rate of inflation
in the eurozone remained unchanged in August as there was a
smaller drop in energy prices, the EU's official statistics
agency said Thursday. Consumer prices reached 5.3 percent in
August, although there was also a slowdown in the rise of food
and drinks costs. A consensus forecast by analysts compiled by
FactSet and Bloomberg had predicted a slight drop in consumer
prices to 5.1 percent. The figure is far higher than the
European Central Bank's two-percent target. The ECB has hiked
interest rates to their highest level since May 2001 to tame
red-hot inflation, but its president Christine Lagarde suggested
there could be a pause at the next rate-setting meeting in
September. "The small upside surprise to euro-zone headline
inflation in August was entirely due to energy, while the core
rate edged down. We don't think these data will tip the balance
of opinion at the ECB decisively towards a hike or a hold at the
meeting," said Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief eurozone
economist at Capital Economics. Inflation had been falling
uninterrupted since May this year after a rise in April.
(ANSA-AFP).
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