Eurozone inflation ‘unlikely to fall below ECB target rate’

INFLATION across the eurozone is unlikely to fall below the European Central Bank’s target rate of 2% this year, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said in Dublin last night.

Speaking at the annual dinner of Financial Services Ireland (FSI), the IBEC-sponsored body representing the Irish financial services industry, Mr Trichet said current market expectations for oil prices had a “visible, direct impact” on inflation this year.

But, he said, inflation would fall below 2% next year if the one-off shocks seen this year were not repeated.