Eurozone May CPI +2.6% vs +2.5% y/y expected

• Prior +2.4%
• Core CPI +2.9% vs +2.7% y/y expected
• Prior +2.7%

Oof. This is a setback for the ECB just as they are about to cut rates next week. Core annual inflation also ticked higher in May and the worry here is that we might see it become stickier at 3% rather than at 2% in the months ahead. For now, this doesn’t change the ECB’s plans for June but we’ll see if that will change should the data continue as such in the months to follow.

The euro has been nudging a little higher going into the decision, with EUR/USD now up 0.1% to 1.0843. The pair was down at around 1.0818 at the start of European morning trade. Besides that, EUR/CHF is also seen up 0.4% to 0.9823 in a slight bounce back after yesterday’s fall.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.