French and Spanish annual inflation slowed in February, official data showed on Thursday, fuel speculation over the European Central Bank's next interest rate move.
Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent in France compared to the same month last year after reaching 3.1 percent in January, according to the INSEE statistics institute. The annual fall was due to a slowdown in prices of food, manufactured products and services while energy prices accelerated.
But inflation jumped by 0.8 percent between January and February after a 0.2-percent monthly fall, INSEE said.
The monthly increase was due to rising prices of services, including rents and transport, as well as energy, manufactured products and tobacco.
In Spain, annual inflation cooled to 2.8 percent in February as electricity prices fell. It had reached 3.4 percent the previous month.
The data will fuel speculation over the ECB's next move when it holds its monetary policy meeting on March 7.
Markets hope the central bank will soon begin cutting rates that were raised to combat inflation, which soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Although the Frankfurt-based ECB has held rates steady so far in 2024, it is widely expected to begin cutting rates later this year in the face of slowing consumer prices and a weakening eurozone economy.
Separate data showed the French economy performed better than previously estimated in the last three months of 2023, growing 0.1 percent instead of stagnating.