Euro-Area Inflation Holding at 0.8% Eases Pressure on ECB

The euro-area inflation rate exceeded economists’ forecasts in February, easing pressure on the European Central Bank to take action next week to foster the fragile economic recovery.

Consumer prices grew an annual 0.8 percent, the same pace as in the previous two months, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 41 economists was for the rate to fall to 0.7 percent. In January, the unemployment rate held at a near-record 12 percent, Eurostat said in a separate report.