Eurozone inflation rises in April

Eurostat said inflation in the eurozone rose to 7.0% in April from 6.9% in March, as higher service and energy costs offset a slowdown in food price growth.

Services inflation, which is mainly driven by labor costs, accelerated to 5.2% in April from 5.1% in March, and inflation has been above the ECB's 2% target for nearly two years. Excluding volatile food and fuel prices, core inflation slowed to 7.3% in April from 7.5% in March, while a narrower measure excluding alcohol and tobacco slowed to 5.6% in April from 5.7% in March, the first decline since last June.