31/10/2017 (Agence Europe) – Eurozone annual inflation is expected to be 1.4% in October 2017, down from 1.5% in September 2017, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. Looking at the main components of eurozone inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in October (3.0%, compared with 3.9% in September), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.4%, compared with 1.9% in September), services (1.2%, compared with 1.5% in September) and non-energy industrial goods (0.4%, compared with 0.5% in September). The ECB has been expecting a fall in inflation for the rest of the year and has decided to extend its quantitave easing operation although it has reduced the scale of it from €60 billion to €30 billon (see EUROPE 11892). (MB)