BRUSSELS, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Annual inflation in the Eurozone is expected to drop to 2.4 percent in March, down from 2.6 percent in February, according to a preliminary estimate released by Eurostat on Wednesday.
The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile elements such as energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, cooled to 2.9 percent in March, reaching a two-year low, showed data from the statistical office of the European Union.
Despite the overall decrease, inflation in the services sector remained relatively high at 4 percent for the fifth consecutive month, underscoring its ongoing contribution to the inflationary backdrop.
Meanwhile, the inflation rate for food, alcohol, and tobacco softened to 2.7 percent in March. The rate for non-energy industrial goods also saw a reduction, falling to 1.1 percent from 1.6 percent in the previous month.
Notably, inflation rates varied among the Eurozone's largest economies, with Germany reporting a 2.3 percent rate, France at 2.4 percent and Italy at 1.3 percent.
Eurostat also revealed on Wednesday that the unemployment rate in the Euro area stood at 6.5 percent in February, consistent with January's figures and reflecting a slight improvement from 6.6 percent in the same month the previous year. ■
