Eurostat's final figures, published on Friday, showed annual inflation easing from 3.2% in May to 2.8% in June, the first decline since prices began accelerating in January, less than a week before the ECB's Governing Council announces its policy decision on Thursday and decides whether June's first interest-rate hike in nearly three years should be followed by another increase.
The details of the release lean towards a pause.
Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, slowed from 2.6% to 2.4%, energy inflation cooled from 10.8% to 8.5% and services eased from 3.5% to 3.2%, with the headline rate falling in 22 of the EU's 27 member states.
Among the eurozone's big four economies, Germany stood at 2.4%, France at 2%, Italy at 3% and Spain at 3.6%.
The numbers matter because of what came before.
