Euro zone Aug HICP up 2.3 pct yr-on-yr, unchanged vs provisional

The euro zone's harmonised index of consumer prices rose a final 2.3 pct year-on-year in August, unchanged from a provisional estimate, EU statistics office Eurostat said.
The HICP rose 2.4 pct year-on-year in July.
Month-on-month, the HICP rose 0.2 pct in August.
Economists polled by AFX News had forecast a rise of 0.1 pct from July and a year-on-year increase of 2.3 pct.
Eurostat said prices excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco -- its favoured measure of core inflation -- were up 1.3 pct year-on-year in August, compared with a 1.4 pct rate of increase in July.
Prices excluding energy and unprocessed food rose 1.5 pct year-on-year, compared with an increase of 1.6 pct in July. This measure of core inflation is closely watched by the European Central Bank.