Prices ease but likely too little to persuade ECB to cut interest rates 

Underlying inflation, closely watched by the ECB, fell less than financial market economists were anticipating

ECB president Christine Lagarde  signalled a move before June’s meeting was unlikely by describing eagerly awaited wage data due just before that as 'critically important'.

Eurozone inflation eased slightly to 2.8% in January from 2.9% in the previous month, but financial markets are watching closely whether price pressures are on their way to falling below the European Central Bank's target of 2% that could lead to a rate cut in the coming months.  

Underlying price pressures which are monitored by the ECB, as they exclude volatile energy and food costs, dipped only slightly to 3.3% from 3.4%, while services inflation, which can be driven by wage growth, was unchanged at 4%. Meanwhile, the inflation rate for unprocessed food and energy prices fell in the month, to 3.6% from 3.9%.