{"id":98020,"date":"2026-07-20T04:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ecb-survey-euro-zone-companies-expect-slower-price-and-wage-growth\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T04:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:31:20","slug":"ecb-survey-euro-zone-companies-expect-slower-price-and-wage-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ecb-survey-euro-zone-companies-expect-slower-price-and-wage-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"ECB Survey: Euro Zone Companies Expect Slower Price and Wage Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FRANKFURT \u2014 A survey released Monday by the European Central Bank offers some encouraging signs that inflation pressures in the euro zone may be easing, with businesses expecting slower growth in both selling prices and wages over the next year.<\/p>

Inflation in the euro zone is currently hovering near 3%, driven largely by high energy costs \u2014 well above the ECB’s target of 2%. Central bank officials have been concerned that sustained price increases at this level could push inflation expectations higher and spark excessive wage demands, creating a difficult-to-reverse cycle of rising prices.<\/p>

The ECB’s Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises found that, on average, companies are projecting more restrained growth across several key economic measures. As the ECB put it: “On average, firms expected selling prices, non-labour input costs and wage expectations to rise more moderately over the next 12 months.”<\/p>

More than 5,000 businesses took part in the survey. Those firms now anticipate selling prices will climb 3.2% over the next year, a drop from the 3.5% projection recorded three months ago. Non-labour input costs \u2014 which include energy expenses \u2014 are expected to rise 5.2%, compared to the previous estimate of 5.8%.<\/p>

Wage growth expectations also pulled back, falling to 2.5% from 2.8% in the prior quarter. The survey results are considered an important data point ahead of the ECB’s rate-setting meeting scheduled for Thursday.<\/p>

Despite the more optimistic outlook on prices and wages, firms’ broader inflation expectations remained largely stable. Projections for one and three years out held steady at 3.0%, while the five-year outlook edged up slightly to 3.1% from 3.0% three months ago.<\/p>

The ECB is widely anticipated to hold interest rates steady at this week’s meeting. However, persistently high oil prices are fueling speculation that the central bank could raise its 2.25% deposit rate again when officials reconvene in September.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new survey from the European Central Bank shows businesses across the euro zone are anticipating more modest increases in selling prices and wages over the coming year. The findings offer some reassurance that the current energy-driven inflation surge has not yet triggered a broader wage-price spiral. The data is expected to play a key role when ECB policymakers meet Thursday to discuss interest rates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":98019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[834],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784536280036.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-puY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98648,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/euro-zone-banks-clamp-down-on-lending-amid-war-driven-economic-fears\/","url_meta":{"origin":98020,"position":0},"title":"Euro Zone Banks Clamp Down on Lending Amid War-Driven Economic Fears","author":"Admin","date":"July 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Banks across the euro zone have tightened their lending standards due to fears over geopolitical instability, and they plan to restrict credit even further in the coming months. 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