Inflation in the euro zone remained steady for the third straight month in July, offering little comfort to consumers at a time when the number of people out of work continues to climb.
Consumer prices in the 17 nations sharing the euro rose 2.4 percent in July on an annual basis, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday, maintaining a level first touched in May as Brent crude fell sharply earlier in the year.
Inflation is seen coming into line with the European Central Bank's target of just below 2 percent by the end of the year, and ECB President Mario Draghi said in early July the rate is slowing faster than forecast.
That allowed the ECB to cut its interest rates a quarter point to a record low of 0.75 percent and its deposit rate to zero earlier this month.
Brent crude is back to around $105 a barrel after dropping to as low as $90 a barrel in late June and oil prices continue to be supported by worries about supply from sanctions-hit Iran.
Iran and the West have been at odds over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, resulting in crippling sanctions that have cut the flow of Iranian oil into international markets.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected inflation at 2.4 percent in July for the euro zone, but steady, rather than falling, consumer prices are of little bonus to European households suffering what is set to be the bloc's second recession in just three years.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/31/us-eurozone-economy-idUSBRE86U0CT20120731
1 comment:
Where is this massive inflation occurring? No offense but you saying it is occurring is not exactly conclusive. The food stamp / government aid can be an indicator. But I would say that a number of those folks have no interest in looking for a job. Also keep in mind a number of those people do indeed have jobs but still qualify for these programs thus they are not unemployed. Same as it has been for years. Nothing new about that. Well the dollar is worth about 2% what it was 100 years ago and no credit check pay day loans are sooo popular. I’d say that’s pretty massive. But that’s not what we’re talking about. I’ll bookmark this thread and come back to it this summer, or maybe the next, and we’ll see what happens.
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