'The core figure is going to strengthen the ECB hawks. MARCO VAILATI, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND INVESTMENTS, CASSA LOMBARDA, MILAN: Against sterling, the euro rose 0.1% to 88.71 pence.īONDS: German two-year yields were last flat on the day at 3.2027%, compared with 3.223% ahead of the data. STOCKS: The pan-regional STOXX 600 (.STOXX) cut losses and was last down 0.2% on the day.įOREX: The euro was last down 0.4% at $1.0628, but near Wednesday's one-week highs.

Inflation across the 20 countries that use the euro rose by at 8.5% in February, down from 8.6% the month before, Eurostat data showed.Ī decline in energy prices helped ease headline inflation but a core measure of price pressures - an indicator watched closely by the ECB - rose by 5.6%, well above expectations for a rise of 5.3%. LONDON, March 2(Reuters) - A surprisingly large rise in underlying price pressures in the euro zone in February reinforced the case for the European Central Bank to keep raising interest rates, nudging bond yields higher and keeping the euro near one-week highs on Thursday.

Simple sticky notes 5.6