Investing.com - Euro zone consumer price inflation was confirmed to have risen 2.1% in July, underlining the case for the European Central Bank to wind down its asset purchase program this year.
The bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said its rose 2.1% in July 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 1.1%, also in line with forecasts.
The ECB targets a headline inflation rate of close to, but just below 2%.
At its last policy meeting in July, 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 also delivered a confident assessment of the recovery in the euro area.
“While uncertainties, notably related to the global trade environment, remain prominent, the information available since our last monetary policy meeting indicates that the euro area economy is proceeding along a solid and broad-based growth path,” he said.
He also reiterated that the ECB needs to be “patient, persistent and prudent” in its policy to ensure that inflation remains on a sustained adjustment path.