Eurozone Preliminary HICP inflation edges higher to 2.4% YoY in December, as expected
The Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) in December after reporting a 2.2% increase in November, the official data released by Eurostat showed Monday. The reading aligned with the estimated 2.4% print for the reported period.
The core HICP increased by 2.7% YoY in December, at the same pace seen in November and matched the 2.7% market forecast.
On a monthly basis, the bloc’s HICP rebounded 0.4% in December compared to November’s 0.3% drop. The core HICP inflation came in at 0.5% month-over-month (MoM) in the same period versus November’s -0.6%.
The European Central Bank’s (ECB) inflation target is 2.0%. The old continent’s HICP inflation data significantly impacts the market’s pricing of the ECB's future interest rate cuts.
Key details from the Eurozone inflation report (via Eurostat)
Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services is expected to have the highest annual rate in December (4.0%, compared with 3.9% in November), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.7%, stable compared with November), non-energy industrial goods (0.5%, compared with 0.6% in November) and energy (0.1%, compared with -2.0% in November).
EUR/USD reaction to the Eurozone inflation report
Mixed Eurozone inflation data weigh slightly on the Euro, with EUR/USD paring back gains to trade near 1.0420 as of writing. The pair is still up 0.30% on the day.
Euro PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Euro (EUR) against listed major currencies today. Euro was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.31% | -0.30% | -0.02% | -0.20% | -0.63% | -0.77% | 0.02% | |
| EUR | 0.31% | -0.01% | 0.26% | 0.11% | -0.32% | -0.48% | 0.31% | |
| GBP | 0.30% | 0.00% | 0.30% | 0.11% | -0.32% | -0.47% | 0.32% | |
| JPY | 0.02% | -0.26% | -0.30% | -0.19% | -0.62% | -0.78% | 0.00% | |
| CAD | 0.20% | -0.11% | -0.11% | 0.19% | -0.42% | -0.58% | 0.20% | |
| AUD | 0.63% | 0.32% | 0.32% | 0.62% | 0.42% | -0.14% | 0.64% | |
| NZD | 0.77% | 0.48% | 0.47% | 0.78% | 0.58% | 0.14% | 0.78% | |
| CHF | -0.02% | -0.31% | -0.32% | -0.00% | -0.20% | -0.64% | -0.78% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/USD (quote).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
