European Inflation Holds Steady Amid Cooling Economic Growth

European inflation held steady in November, suggesting cooling economic growth is making it more difficult for companies to pass on higher energy costs.

Euro-area consumer prices rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That matched an initial estimate published on Nov. 30 and is the fastest pace since November 2008. Labor costs rose 0.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, after gaining 1.6 percent in the second quarter, separate data showed.