Inflation across Europe may have peaked. Price rises in France, Germany, and Switzerland all unexpectedly slowed in December, driven in part by lower energy prices, while inflation in the eurozone is expected to drop below 10% when new figures are released on Friday. [German Inflation Slowed ... - French Inflation Unexpectedly Slows... - Swiss Inflation Slows… - bloomberg]
The data suggests the European Central Bank and its Swiss counterpart could slow their relentless pace of interest-rate increases. Policymakers have urged caution, however: Germany’s central bank has warned of a “great deal of uncertainty,” and expects inflation to remain well above the ECB’s 2% target for the rest of the year, at least.
