(VOVWORLD) - Eurozone inflation eased for the third straight month in January to 8.5% last month from 9.2% in December, data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, showed on Wednesday.
 Illustrative image (Photo: Reuters) |
The figure was well below a Reuters poll expectation of 9%. The inflation rate decreased as energy prices continued to pull back from recent peaks. Home energy prices were up 17.2% for the year, after having been up 25.5% in December.
Eurozone inflation is falling rapidly after hitting a record of 10.6% last October, five times higher than the target set by the European Central Bank (ECB). However, the ECB has already promised more interest rate hikes, fearing that without higher borrowing costs inflation could become entrenched above its 2% target. ECB policymakers meeting on Thursday are almost certain to raise rates by half a percentage point to 2.5%.