EU CPI inflation hits the ECB’s 2% target
Commenting on EU CPI inflation hitting the ECB’s 2% target, Katy Stoves, investment manager at Mattioli Woods, said: “The Eurozone’s Consumer Price Index hit 2.0% year-on-year, bang on the European Central Bank’s target. This leaves February’s interest rate decision looking like a non-event, with policymakers likely to hold steady. The headline figure says little about growth, however, which remains the bigger question mark for the currency bloc.
“There’s cautious optimism that German defence stimulus will start feeding through the economy soon, and president Trump’s sabre-rattling over Greenland may spur other member states to follow suit with their own spending plans. European equities had a strong year in 2025, but then so did every other region. With Bulgaria’s recent accession bringing membership to 21, the ECB faces its perennial challenge: setting one policy rate for an increasingly diverse economic club.”