Eurozone Preliminary HICP inflation steadies at 2.4% YoY in April, as expected

The Eurozone  Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose at an annual pace of 2.4% in April, the same as that seen in March, according to the official data released by Eurostat on Tuesday. The market forecast was for a 2.4% growth in the reported period.

The Core HICP inflation fell to 2.7% YoY in April, as against March’s 2.9% rise while outpacing the anticipated 2.6% figure.

Meanwhile, the bloc’s HICP increased 0.6% over the month in April after rising 0.8% in March. The core HICP inflation arrived at 0.7% MoM in the same period, compared to a 1.1% raise seen previously.

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) inflation target is 2.0%. The old continent’s HICP inflation data have a major bearing on the market’s pricing of the ECB interest rate outlook.

Key details from the Eurozone inflation report (via Eurostat)

“Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services are expected to have the highest annual rate in April (3.7%, compared with 4.0% in March), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.8%, compared with 2.6% in March), non-energy industrial goods (0.9%, compared with 1.1% in March) and energy (-0.6%, compared with -1.8% in March).”

EUR/USD reaction to the Eurozone inflation report

The Euro catches a fresh bid on mixed Eurozone inflation data. EUR/USD is trading almost unchanged on the day at 1.0721, at the press time, having erased early losses.