1232 GMT - The European Central Bank will remain cautious as it unwinds monetary policy in the months ahead, ING economist Peter Vanden Houte says in a note. Services inflation remains a concern, he says, after it rose to 4% in December from 3.9% in November, and will likely remain above 3.5% in the first half of 2025. Both PMI surveys and the European Commission's sentiment indicator suggest that upward price pressure in the services sector remains significant due to still-strong wage increases and higher price setting by firms. "All of this indicates a high likelihood that the eurozone inflation rate will increase further in the first quarter of this year," he says. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 07, 2025 07:32 ET (12:32 GMT)
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