Why European Prices Currently Lean on Nothing But Hope
The European economic landscape in early 2026 presents a fascinating, albeit precarious, study in psychological resilience. For the past several years, the Eurozone has been caught in a relentless pincer movement: skyrocketing energy costs on one side and aggressive interest rate hikes on the other. As we look at the current state of consumer and producer prices across the continent, a singular theme emerges. The data suggests a stabilization, but the sentiment suggests something much more ethereal. In many ways, European price stability is currently built on a foundation of hope.

The Inflation Hangover and the Search for a Floor
To understand why “hope” is the primary driver of current market sentiment, one must look at the exhaustion of traditional economic levers. The European Central Bank (ECB) spent the previous years in an uphill battle against inflation that reached double digits in several member states. While the headline Harmonized Index … Read more



