Eurozone inflation up less than originally estimated (AP) (28-02-2011)

LONDON (AP) – It appears that the first estimate was not exactly accurate, and prices in the euro zone did not rise as much as originally thought during January; they have still increased at their highest rate in over two years, official figures showed Monday.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said consumer prices in the eurozone rose 2.3 percent in the year to January. That's marginally down on the 2.4 percent first predicted but still means that inflation is running at a 27-month high.

The numbers come ahead of Thursday's monthly policy meeting of the European Central Bank. Though the bank is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged at 1 percent, rate-setters are getting increasingly concerned that inflation is running higher than its target of "close to but below 2 percent."

Source: AP