According to figures released on Friday, Eurozone inflation reached a new high in June, as the ECB prepared for its first rate rise in 11 years.
According to preliminary numbers from the European statistics office Eurostat, the total CPI was 8.6% (year on year) in June. The rate had risen to 8.1% in May, and the forecast was predicting an increase of 8.4 % in June. As a result, the statistics released today are a disappointment.
Remember that Germany stunned everyone at the outset of the week by revealing a 0.5% point decline in monthly inflation, thanks in part to new government subsidies designed to offset the impact of rising oil costs.
France and Spain, on the other hand, set new inflation records in June, with the latter topping the 10% mark for the first time since 1985, according to Reuters. This has helped the market prepare for the announcement of the statistics today.
The impact of these numbers on markets has been minimal, albeit we have witnessed a tiny negative response in the CAC 40 and a slight gain in the Euro, as indicated particularly by the EUR/USD pair.
