Europe’s Inflation Crisis Eases — With Several Caveats

The good news is, headline inflation in Europe receded to 8.5% in January. I should pause to note how surreal this (still) is. Prior to the pandemic and the war, Europe seemed destined to suffer the same fate as Japan, mired in deflation. Two years into the 2020s, Europe should be so lucky. The flash estimate for January was below expectations, and counted as the coolest print since May. Economists expected 8.9% from the headline reading. The 12-month rate of energy inflation slid to "just"