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Stable Oil Prices to Have Dampening Effect on Inflation in Eurozone – British Expert

Business Materials 18 April 2008 16:46 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, 18 April / Trend corr A. Badalova/ According to Ben May, economist for Europe of the Capital Economics, one of the leading economic research consultancies in the UK, slowing activity in fiscal markets and the strong euro to have a dampening effect on inflation this year.

"Providing that there are no further sharp rises in oil and food prices, headline CPI inflation should dip back to around 2% by early 2009," May said to Trend on 18 April.

According to the British expert, March's CPI data will do nothing to ease the ECB's concerns about inflationary pressures in the euro-zone economy.

"March's headline inflation rate was revised up from 3.5% to 3.6%, a series high. There were small rises in annual food and energy price inflation. But more worryingly, core inflation rose from 1.8% to 2.0% (consensus 1.9%), its highest rate since April 2003," May said.

Eurostat reported that, in March, the inflation in Eurozone climbed up to record level - 3.6%, which is the highest inflation rate for the past 16 years.

March's consumer product price inflation in Eurozone amounted to 6.2%, while February's was 5.8%. March's energy resource inflation rose to 11.2% while February's was 10.4%.

ECB's task is to contain inflation at some 2%.

The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]

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