An imminent VAT hike is spurring spending in Germany
|
Slipping energy prices helped push headline eurozone inflation down in August, official data shows.
Annual inflation for the 12 nations using the euro fell from 2.4% in July to 2.3%, the EU's Eurostat agency said.
Policymakers are concerned about keeping a lid on inflation, as Europe's leading economies recover.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has set a 2% inflation comfort zone and raised the benchmark interest rate to 3% last month to tackle rising consumer prices.
The markets anticipate a further 0.25% rise when the ECB meets in October.
Energy prices were still the main driver of inflation but year-on-year prices had climbed only 8.1% in August, against 9.5% in July and 11% in June.
In separate Eurostat data, the eurozone trade surplus was 1.5bn euros ($1.91bn; £1.02bn ) - the same as in June but less than a quarter of the size it was a year ago.
The rise in imports came mainly from energy purchases.