Euro Area CPI inflation stable at 2.4% in April

Annual consumer price inflation in the Euro Area has remained stable at 2.4% in April, in line with market consensus, preliminary data by Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

Prices rose at a slower rate for non-energy industrial goods (0.9% YoY compared to 1.1% YoY in March) and for services (3.7% YoY compared to 4% YoY in March).

Conversely, price increase accelerated for food, alcohol and tobacco (2.8% YoY compared to 2.6% YoY in March).

Meanwhile, energy prices dropped at a slower rate (-0.6% YoY in April compared to -1.8% YoY in March), the data showed.

The bloc’s annual core inflation rate, which excludes volatile categories such as food and energy, eased to 2.7% in April from 2.9% in March.

The core inflation rate cooled for a ninth straight month, while reinforcing the case for an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.

In monthly terms, consumer prices in the bloc increased 0.4% in April, following a 0.8% rise in the previous month.

The Euro was little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the EUR/USD currency pair last trading at 1.0726.