Investing.com - Inflation in the euro zone fell slightly in March, staying well below the European Central Bank's medium-term target, according to a flash reading of the data on Monday.
The consumer price index showed annual inflation fell to 1.4% from 1.5% in February, the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, slowed to an annual rate of 0.8% from a revised 1% in February. That is well below the level targeted by the European Central Bank, which aims for an inflation rate of just under 2% in the medium term.
In a separate report, the unemployment rate in the bloc in February was steady at 7.8%, which was in line with the consensus.
Last month, the ECB pushed back its tentative timetable for a first interest rate hike 10 years and flagged a fresh round of cheap funding for banks, concerned about slowing growth in the bloc.