Investing.com - Inflation in the euro zone accelerated modestly in February but stayed well below the European Central Bank's medium-term target, according to final data for the month, released on Friday.
The consumer price index rose 1.5% in February from the same month a year earlier, the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said. That was higher than the 1.4% recorded in January and confirmed a preliminary reading. Prices for the month rose 0.3%, after falling 1.0% in January.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, slowed to an annual rate of 1% from a revised 1.1% in January. That is well below the level targeted by the European Central Bank, which aims for an inflation rate of close to, but just below, 2% in the medium term.
Last week the central bank pushed back rate hikes from the end of the summer to at least the end of the year and introduced fresh stimulus funding for banks amid worries over slowing growth in the bloc.