Eurozone core inflation hits 1-year low, backing ECB pause

There’s growing evidence that the ECB’s actions are hitting the already struggling economy — further bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes. Picture: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg
Euro-area core inflation eased to its slowest pace in a year, supporting expectations that the European Central Bank will keep interest rates on hold to gauge the impact of its unprecedented campaign of hikes.
Underlying price gains, which strip out energy and food costs, came in at 4.5% in September, Eurostat said Friday. That’s down from 5.3% in August and much less than the 4.8% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.