Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the euro zone declined for the first time in six months in September, adding to speculation that the European Central Bank may scale up its stimulus program to fight deflation, official preliminary data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% this month, compared to expectations for a flat reading and following a 0.1% increase in August.
The rate has now been below 1% for 22 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in September, matching forecasts and unchanged from August.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1222 from around 1.1227 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7396 from 0.7398 earlier.
The Investing.com Euro Index, which tracks the single currency against a basket of six major rivals, was at 89.71, compared to 89.73 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 2.3%, Germany's DAX jumped 2.15%, France’s CAC 40 rose 2.35%, while London’s FTSE 100 advanced 2.1%.