AFP, Oct 31, 2016 – Growth in the euro zone remained stable at 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2016 as inflation rose to a 27-month high, official EU data showed on Monday.
The figured showed that the recovery in the 19-nation single currency area remained cautious amid fears about the fallout of Brexit and an emerging banking crisis.
Consumer prices, which entered deflationary territory last year, rose a higher-than-expected 0.5 percent, the highest since June 2014.
Analysts surveyed by Factset had forecast inflation of 0.4 percent for the period.
The growth figure was on par with analyst expectations and will feed worries that the European economy will fail to bring new jobs and significantly boost inflation.
The full 28 members of the European Union meanwhile showed growth of 0.4 percent in the third quarter, also on par with analyst predictions.
Inflation, though at its highest level in over two years, remains very far off the target level of near 2.0 percent set by the European Central Bank.
The ECB has embarked on an increasingly controversial monetary stimulus program to boost inflation and the economy, which has yet to deliver the intended results