Euro zone consumer inflation expectations hold steady

FRANKFURT, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Euro ⁠zone consumers ⁠kept ‍their inflation expectations unchanged in November, predicting a steady slowdown in price growth towards the European ‍Central Bank's 2% target in the coming years, ​an ECB survey showed on Thursday.

Inflation has been hovering around 2% ​most of the past year and fresh data out on Wednesday put price growth right at 2% in December, as falling energy costs ​offset rising services prices.

Consumers across the currency bloc perceived inflation to be somewhat higher - 3.1% in November - but ​saw it at 2.8% over the next year, 2.5% three years ahead, and ‌2.2% five years out, the ECB said, based on a survey of 19,000 adults in 11 ​euro zone countries.

Inflation, tamed by ⁠record-quick ECB rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, has been a non-issue in recent months ‌and, if anything, price growth could go even lower given a persistent drag from falling oil and gas prices.

However, the ECB ‌is unlikely to ease policy for now to stop price growth ‌from going too low, as projections see a rebound later, partly on steady economic growth.

Consumers, who are generally more pessimistic than professional forecasters, ‍expect the economy to contract by 1.3% over the coming year, a more pessimistic ⁠scenario than October's 1.1% contraction expectation.

Most forecasters see the euro zone expanding at a rate between 1% and 1.5% this year, after growth of about 1.4% in 2025.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Alex Richardson)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Exclusive-Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Soccer-Across the parking lot from the World Cup, baseball beckons
• 'Trump accounts' for newborns will accept stock donations, US officials say