Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose more than expected in August, despite plunging energy prices, official preliminary data showed on Monday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, above expectations for a gain of 0.1% and following a 0.2% increase in July.
The rate has now been below 1% for 21 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.0% in August, matching forecasts and unchanged from July.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1201 from around 1.1200 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7266 from 0.7265 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to sharp losses. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 1%, Germany's DAX slumped 1.3%, France’s CAC 40 declined 1.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 was closed for a public holiday.