According to the flash estimate issued by the INE, the annual inflation of the CPI in February 2018 was 1.1%. This indicator provides a preview of the CPI that, if confirmed, would imply an increase of five tenths in the annual rate, since in January this change was 0.6%. This behaviour highlights the decrease in the prices of electricity compared to the decrease of prices of 2017. In turn, the annual variation of the flash estimate of the HICP in February stands at 1.2%.

Wednesday's session was marked by Eurozone CPI figures. Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.2% in February 2018, down from 1.3% in January 2018, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in February (2.1%, compared with 2.2% in January), followed by services (1.3%, compared with 1.2% in January), food, alcohol & tobacco (1.1%, compared with 1.9% in January) and non-energy industrial goods (0.7%, compared with 0.6% in January).

This week markets will be looking at:

Minimum Bid Rate/ECB Press Conference (Thursday 14:30)