Eurozone inflation falls but not convincingly

Annual price growth for the Euro area, calculated by consumer price inflation, fell 0.1% from the previous month to 8.5% for February. The 8.2% consensus forecast was overshot due to 15% price growth in food, alcohol and tobacco coupled by energy prices, which despite easing slightly, were still 13.7% higher than twelve months prior. Global stocks declined and government bonds sold off on the news as investor concerns of higher interest rates for longer were stoked. We await the European Central Bank's interest rate policy response in two weeks time.