Eurozone price pressures ease but core inflation unchanged

Inflation across the eurozone slowed slightly in June, according to preliminary estimates published on Tuesday by Eurostat, while the region's unemployment rate held steady.

The harmonised index of consumer prices was 2.5% higher than last year, with annual inflation easing from the 2.6% rate seen in May. This was in line with the consensus forecast.

However, the annual rate of core inflation – which excludes volatile items such as food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco – held steady at 2.9%, despite expectations for a drop to 2.8%.

Services inflation stayed elevated at 4.1% in June, while non-energy industrial goods also remained steady at 0.7%, while energy price growth eased to 0.2% from 0.3% and food, alcohol and tobacco inflation slowed to 2.5% from 2.6%.

Belgium saw the highest rate of inflation across the single-currency region at 5.5%, up sharply from 4.9% in May, followed by Spain at 3.5%, where price growth eased from 3.8% the month before.

Croatia had the third-highest rate along with the Netherlands at 3.4%, though inflation slowed sharply in Croatia (from 4.3% in May) and picked up in the Netherlands (from 2.7%).

In other news, Eurostat also announced that the unemployment rate for the eurozone remained at 6.4% in May, matching economists' predictions and remaining at an all-time low for the region.