Since October, inflation has fallen to 2.4% in March, according to Eurostat data. The European Commissioner for Economy PaoloGentiloni said this in the press conference at the end of the Eurogroup.
"Overall, we remain confident that inflation will continue to decline," Gentiloni underlined. "We believe that there are obviously both downside and upside risks to the inflation outlook," he added. The drop achieved with Eurostat's latest flash estimate, he explained, "overall is good news for families across Europe" and is "good for a strengthening of economic activity in the second half of the year that we expect" The European Central Bank is expected to announce its first rate hike in nearly two years on March 25. The ECB's target for inflation is 2.5% over the course of the next two years, with a target rate of between 1.5 and 2.0% in 2015 and 2016. The target rate is aimed at preventing inflation from getting out of control.