Consumer prices rose by 1.5% year-on-year in January compared to 1% a month earlier, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices from the Central Statistices Office show today - the highest level in five months.

Rising services prices were behind the boost in the December inflation figure, although they were offset by a fall in food, alcohol and tobacco prices. View on euronews

Against this backdrop, the ECB’s communication in the policy statement and President Lagarde’s comments will hold the key to determining the scope and timing of the next rate cuts as the Bank battles concerns over economic growth and potential tariffs by United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration.

The European Central Bank is cutting its key interest rate, a step to boost an economy that’s struggling to grow as consumers burned by inflation warily eye price tags and businesses try to chart a course amid political turmoil in leading economies France and Germany.

The eurozone economy stagnated in the fourth quarter as political instability weighed heavily on the region’s two biggest countries, offsetting better performance elsewhere.

The bloc’s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) increased at an annual pace of 0.9% in Q4 versus 0.9% in Q3 and 1% expected. Separately, the Eurozone Unemployment Rate increased to 6.3% in December, compared to November’s 6.2%.

The euro zone economy stagnated last quarter as worried consumers zipped up their purses, adding to fears that a long-predicted recovery could be further delayed, Eurostat data showed today.

Europe’s economy stagnated at the end of last year as former growth engine Germany floundered to the end of a second straight year of shrinking output, officials said Thursday. Gross domestic product was flat with a zero increase in the final quarter of 2024 in the 20-nation eurozone,

Transport costs have dropped by 1.9 per cent in the month and increased by 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2025.

Investors are snapping up crude oil futures as a hedge against the risk that U.S. President Donald Trump's threatened trade tariffs will cause a resurgence in global inflation, adding momentum to a recent rally in oil prices sparked by a tightening of sanctions on Russia.

AUD/USD is defending minor bids above 0.6200 in the Asian session on Friday, hanging close to a nearly two-week low amid the latest tariff threat from US President Trump on Chinese imports. Further, increased bets for February RBA rate and China's economic woes remain a drag on the pair. US PCE eyed.

By bne IntelliNews Southeast Europe bureau Nationwide shopping boycotts are taking place in several Southeast European countries on January 31, with residents urged not to shop during the day in protest against high prices.