The eurozone industrial producer price index - an indication of pipeline inflation - was unchanged in July from June and was down 0.6pc year-on-year, according to figures released today by Eurostat. The monthly reading failed to meet analysts forecasts, which had tipped a decline of 0.2pc but the annual fall of 0.6pc was in line with expectations, indicating that the potential inflation rate is still well below EU limits. This eases pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) regarding a rate hike, and allows some scope for a cut later in the year, if the economic recovery has still failed to progress. Compared with June, the eurozone's intermediate goods sub-index rose 0.1pc in July, while the energy sub-index was down 0.4pc. The capital goods sub-index was unchanged, while the durable consumer goods index fell 0.1pc and the non-durable consumer goods index rose 0.1pc.
Year-on-year, the intermediate goods sub-index was down 0.1pc and the energy sub-index down 4.2pc. The capital goods sub-index was up 0.8pc, the durable consumer goods index up 1.2pc and the non-durable consumer goods index up 0.9pc. //www.fxcentre.com