Euro area annual inflation down to 1.4% in March

According to a flash estimate from Eurostat, euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.4% in March 2019, down from 1.5% in February. Economists had expected a 1.5% increase.

Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in March (5.3%, compared with 3.6% in February), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (1.8%, compared with 2.3% in February), services (1.1%, compared with 1.4% in February) and non-energy industrial goods (0.2%, compared with 0.4% in February)

A separate report from from Eurostat showed, the euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8% in February 2019, stable compared with January 2019 and down from 8.5% in February 2018. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since October 2008. The EU28 unemployment rate was 6.5% in February 2019, stable compared with January 2019 and down from 7.1% in February 2018. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since the start of the EU monthly unemployment series in January 2000.

Eurostat estimates that 16.012 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.730 million in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2019. Compared with January 2019, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 102 000 in the EU28 and by 77 000 in the euro area. Compared with February 2018, unemployment fell by 1.469 million in the EU28 and by 1.169 million in the euro area.