Investing.com – Consumer price inflation (CPI) in the euro zone ticked as expected in September, but concerns remained over weak price increases in the region placing additional pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to embark on further stimulus, official preliminary data showed on Friday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% this month, in line with forecasts and following a final reading of a 0.2% advance in August.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.9% gain and the previous month’s 0.8% increase.
The weaker than expected core reading along with the low levels of headline inflation would is negative news for the euro zone’s monetary authority as inflation remains far below its 2% target.
The ECB will hold its next monetary policy meeting on October 20 and may consider embarking on further easing measures designed to further increase price pressures.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with the region’s unemployment rate, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1182 compared to 1.1187 previously, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8624 compared to 0.8623 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets traded lower. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.34%, Germany's DAX lost 1.16%, France’s CAC 40 traded down 1.32%, while London’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.00%.