BREAKING: Eurozone headline CPI slows more than expected, core accelerates

Flash CPI reading for March from the euro area was released today at 10:00 am BST. Headline reading showed slowdown as expected and, contrary to German or French readings, this slowdown was bigger than expected. However, core CPI accelerated from 5.6 to 5.7% YoY in-line with market expectations. This shows that drop in headline is driven mostly by base effects in oil, rather than general pullback in overall price level. 

Euro area

• Headline: 6.9% YoY vs 7.1% YoY expected (8.5% YoY previously)

• Core: 5.7% YoY vs 5.7% YoY expected (5.6% YoY previously)

Italy

• Headline: 7.7% YoY vs 8.2% YoY expected (9.1% YoY previously)

FX market saw a dovish reaction with EUR pulling back against other major currencies. DE30, and other equity indices, jumped in a knee-jerk move but those gains were quickly erased and now DE30 trades flat compared to pre-announcement levels in the 15,700 pts area.

Gains on EURUSD triggered after release of French CPI data turned out to be short-lived - the main currency pair quickly pulled back below 1.09 mark and continued to move lower after EMU  CPI reading. Source: xStation5