Euro-Area Inflation Remains at 0.2% as Core Rate Picks Up

The euro-area inflation rate held steady in July, highlighting the challenge facing the European Central Bank as it seeks to stoke price growth in the 19-nation bloc.

Consumer prices rose an annual 0.2 percent, the same pace as in June and matching the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. Core inflation unexpectedly accelerated to 1 percent, the fastest in 15 months, the EU’s statistics office in Luxembourg said in a report on Friday.