Euro-Zone April HICP inflation remained steady at 0.6%, according to the first flash estimate. This was in line with our median. We had been looking for an acceleration to 0.8%, in line with the rise in German inflation that month, but Spain and Italy reported rates unchanged from March at -0.1% y/y and 0.6% y/y. Headline inflation remains far below the ECB’s 2% upper limit for price stability and is expected to fall further in coming months on the back of base effects. As long as the ECB managed to keep inflation expectations stable, a temporary dip in inflation should help to stabilize real disposable income and consumption trends and is therefore not necessarily a bad thing.