'No Victory Yet', ECB Says As Inflation Slows In Key Countries

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 31, 2023 | 08:44 PM

Falling inflation in top eurozone economies is "positive" news, a senior European Central Bank official said Wednesday, while warning that the battle against high prices was not over yet

Frankfurt, Germany, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st May, 2023 ):Falling inflation in top eurozone economies is "positive" news, a senior European Central Bank official said Wednesday, while warning that the battle against high prices was not over yet.

In Europe's biggest economy Germany, inflation slowed to 6.1 percent year-on-year in May, preliminary data showed, down from 7.2 percent in April.

The drop, which was bigger than analysts had expected, was mostly due to declining energy costs, federal statistics office Destatis said.

The picture was similar in neighbouring France where consumer price growth slowed to 5.1 percent in May, down from 5.9 percent a month earlier.

"The data that we have received yesterday and today is positive, it's a decline in headline inflation," ECB vice-president Luis de Guindos told reporters.

"But I would not say that the victory is there," he said.

"We are on a correct trajectory and we have to look very carefully at the evolution of core inflation" which excludes volatile food and energy prices, he added.