Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose less than expected in December, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to step up measures to boost price growth in the euro area, official preliminary data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, missing expectations for a gain of 0.3% and following a 0.2% increase in November.
The rate has now been below 1% for 27 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 December, below forecasts for 1.0% and unchanged from 0.9% a month earlier.
EUR/USD fell to 1.0789 from around 1.0775 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7349 from 0.7341 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.15%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 inched down 0.25%, while London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.25%.