Eurozone Inflation Rises to 3.0% in April

Eurozone inflation rose to 3.0 percent in April, Eurostat reported Thursday, driven primarily by surging energy costs linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The figure marked an increase from 2.6 percent in March and exceeded the European Central Bank's two percent target for the second consecutive month, surpassing economist forecasts of 2.9 percent.

Energy prices accounted for most of the headline increase, while core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy components, eased slightly to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent. Services inflation, a persistent pressure point in recent years, slowed to 3.0 percent from 3.2 percent. Inflation for non-energy industrial goods rose to 0.8 percent.

The data arrived as the ECB held its policy meeting Thursday, where officials were expected to maintain current interest rates but signal potential tightening ahead. Investors anticipate the first hike to the ECB's two percent deposit rate as early as June, followed by at least two more by year-end. The mixed signals strengthen calls for rate increases to combat headline inflation, though softer core figures indicate limited second-round effects from the energy shock so far....