The slight rise of theinflation in the euro area. According to the final data released by Eurostat, in April the growth in consumer prices on an annual basis stood at Present in several = 0,7%. In March, however, inflation had fallen to an all-time low of 0,5%.
Despite the slight recovery, average inflation in the currency union still remains far from the official objective of the European Central Bank, which indicates a value below but close to 2%.
Economic growth also remains below expectations. In the first quarter, again according to Eurostat, the GDP of the Eurozone marked an increase in the Present in several = 0,2% compared to the previous three months. About half of what analysts expected.
So it gets stronger the markets' expectation for the new unconventional measures that the ECB could launch in Juneafter the European elections. In recent months there has often been talk of a European-style quantitative easing, an operation solicited by both the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. For its part, the Governing Council of the Eurotower has repeated several times that it is ready to put in place exceptional measures to counter the weakness of inflation.
In the editorial of the latest monthly bulletin published this morning, the ECB underlines once again that it is oriented to intervene "promptly, if necessary, through a further easing of monetary policy", in order to prevent low inflation from continuing too long.
"The Governing Council - reads the text - firmly reiterates that it continues to expect reference interest rates at or below current levels for an extended period of time", is also repeated in the editorial of the latest monthly bulletin.
