Euro-Region Inflation Unexpectedly Slows as Economy Weakens

Euro-area inflation unexpectedly slowed in January as the economy cooled and governments cut spending across the 17-nation currency region.

The inflation rate in the euro area dropped to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent in the previous month, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. It had initially estimated January’s inflation rate at 2.7 percent. Before today’s revision, economists forecast February inflation, due tomorrow, to slow to 2.6 percent, according to the median of 35 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.