Euro Area inflation statistics to be released for December

Eurostat will today release the Euro Area’s year-over-year flash core inflation rate for the month of December.

The inflation rate, which has been valued at -0.3% since September, is currently forecast at -0.4%. The rate is set to be released two weeks before the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council’s first monetary policy meeting this year in Frankfurt. The ECB took serious measures in an attempt to turn the bloc’s economic tides by significantly raising its asset purchases and extending its quantitative-easing program by over $600 billion. In the new year, the ECB aims to resume buying assets until March 2022. It also plans to rapidly increase bank loans to restore the region’s economy.

The ECB is likely to increase its subsidised expenditures. Determined to sustain cost stability, the main goal of the ECB’s monetary policy is to keep the inflation rate near 2%. The ECB is also expected to look for alternative ways to boost its resources, such as advancing cryptocurrency technology by issuing a digital euro that would compete with foreign currencies.

Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.