Eurozone inflation drops to 2.4% in 'positive surprise'

Core inflation down to 2.9%

Eurozone annual inflation fell to 2.4% in March, down from 2.6% in February, according to preliminary data from statistics office Eurostat.

Core inflation also fell from February's figure of 3.1% to an annual rate of 2.9%. Services had the highest annual rate at 4%, unchanged from February. Food, alcohol and tobacco (2.7%), non-energy industrial goods (1.1%) and energy (-1.8%) all saw a decrease in annual inflation rates compared to February. Timing of ECB rate cuts in doubt as core eurozone inflation measure disappoints Michael Field, European market strategist at Morningstar, said markets expected a flat reading for headline inflation for March, so the decrease is a "positive surprise". However, he said core inflation w...