Consumer inflation eases to 2.6 pct in 17-member euro currency area

Inflation in the 17 countries that use the euro fell to an annual 2.6 percent in April, down from 2.7 percent in March but higher than the 2.5 percent expected by market analysts. Rising prices have been a consistent headache for the ECB - the chief monetary authority for the 17-country eurozone. The annual rate has remained stuck well above the central bank's goal of just under 2 percent, a target that it now says won't be reached until early 2013. The stubborn inflation rate - which the ECB blames on higher oil prices and taxes in some countries - is important to the eurozone debt crisis because it discourages the ECB from cutting its 1 percent benchmark interest rate further. Lower central bank interest rates can spur growth, but can also worsen inflation. ECB President Mario Draghi has stressed that fighting price rises is the bank's top priority. Lack of flexibility on interest rates could become more of an issue as worries increase about the depth of the eurozone's economic downturn. The economy of the 17-country group that uses the euro shrank 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Recent economic indicators - such as a disappointing survey of purchasing managers showing lower economic activity - have raised fears the dip may be deeper. Persistently high inflation adds to those growth worries as it hits European consumers' purchasing power.