Investing.com - Euro zone consumer price inflation for August went unrevised on Monday, underlining the case for the European Central Bank to wind down its asset purchase program this year.
The bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said the CPI rose 2.0% in August from the same month a year earlier, matching consensus.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose by an annual rate of 1.0%, also in line with forecasts.
The ECB targets a headline inflation rate of close to, but just below 2%.
At its last policy meeting earlier this month, the ECB left interest rates on hold and confirmed plans to wind up its massive bond purchasing stimulus program by December.
ECB President Mario Draghi reiterated that the bank needs to be “patient, persistent and prudent” in its policy to ensure that inflation remains on a sustained adjustment path and indicated that interest rates would likely remain at present levels “at least through the summer of 2019”.