Europe February Inflation Quickens, Adding Pressure on ECB

European inflation accelerated to the fastest in more than two years in February, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates.

Inflation in the 17-nation euro region quickened to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent in January, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today, confirming a March 1 estimate. That’s the fastest since October 2008 and exceeded the ECB’s 2 percent limit for a third month. Labor costs rose 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, after increasing 0.9 percent in the third quarter, a separate report showed.