Euro zone companies are raising prices at a more moderate pace as their costs stabilise, demand cools and competition mounts, although growing wages remain a concern, according to a European Central Bank survey published on Friday.
"To a large extent, this moderation reflected stabilising non-labour input costs and the rebalancing of supply and demand for many goods since last summer."
Labour costs were rising, with wages expected to rise by 5% this year -- unchanged from the previous survey round in February.
This meant that service providers, which are particularly sensitive to labour costs, continued to anticipate strong price hikes.