The stalls at the 590th Dresden Striezelmarkt are brightly lit at the opening.
Sebastian Kahnert | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Annual Euro zone inflation rose to 2.3% in November, statistics agency Eurostat said Friday, climbing back above the European Central Bank’s 2% target.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the 2.3% annual rate for the month, up from 2% in October.
Price rises in the bloc have ticked higher for two straight months after dropping to 1.7% in September, as was expected due to the fading deflationary pull from energy prices.
Core inflation, excluding volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, held at 2.7% for a third straight month in November.
The core rate is being propped up by the stickiness of services inflation, which only slid slightly to 3.9% in November from 4% during the previous month.
Markets have fully priced in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut from the ECB in December, which would mark the institution’s fourth trim of the year.
Speculation that the central bank could be pushed into a larger 50-basis-point cut has faded since last month, after slight improvements in the weak euro area growth outlook and a rebound in inflation.
Inflation came in slightly higher than forecast in October, while ECB policymakers, including executive board member Isabel Schnabel, have stressed the need for caution in monetary easing.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.