Underlying price pressures in the euro zone eased in June as inflationary influences in the bloc's top three economies of Germany, France and Italy fell, the Economic Cycle Research Institute's (ECRI) index showed today.
ECRI, which designs indices aimed at predicting business cycles in leading economies, said its Eurozone Future Inflation Gauge fell to 95.3 in June from a upwardly revised 96.1 in May.
"After climbing at the fastest pace in four years, euro zone inflationary pressures have eased off a bit," ECRI said in a statement.
"However, actual euro zone inflation remains at a 14-month high. Unless (the index) keeps falling, the uptrend in euro zone inflation is likely to persist."
The gauge aims to anticipate cyclical swings in the region's inflation rate and changes in official interest rate policy by measuring underlying inflationary pressures, rather than actual inflation rates.
The gauge for Germany slipped to 79.3 in June from 81.5 in May. "The gauge was pulled down in June mainly by slower growth in money supply and basic materials prices, as well as by a widening in the yield spread," ECRI said.
The French gauge also recorded a fall, albeit a smaller one, edging down to 102.0 from May's upwardly revised 102.1, and the Italian index slipped to 98.1 from a downwardly revised 98.6.
By contrast, the Spanish index rose to 133.4 from a upwardly revised 131.5, marking its third consecutive monthly rise.