Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the euro zone held steady in June, underlining concerns over the threat of deflation in the region, official preliminary data showed on Monday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% this month, in line with expectations and unchanged from May.
The rate remains well below the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in June, accelerating from 0.7% in May and above expectations for a reading of 0.7%.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.04% to trade at 1.3655.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 tacked on 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.1%, Germany's DAX rose 0.4%, while London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.1%.