World News: Euro-Zone Prices Rise on Fuel Costs --- Pace Overshoots Bank's Target, Stoking Expectations for Rate Tightening; German Unemployment Falls
FRANKFURT -- Euro-zone inflation unexpectedly accelerated well above the European Central Bank's target in March, while German unemployment fell, fueling expectations that the ECB will have to embark on multiple interest-rate increases beginning next week to prevent overheating in much of the region.</br></br>The euro surged past $1.42 to the dollar on the report, because expectations of higher interest rates tend to increase a currency's value. The U.S. Federal Reserve isn't expected to begin raising interest rates for many months.</br></br>Annual euro-zone inflation rose to 2.6% in March from 2.4% the previous month, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said, surprising many economists who had expected no change from February.</br></br>Eurostat didn't provide a country or product breakdown, but analysts say energy prices are to blame.</br></br>Of particular concern to economists is that the March figure, already the highest since October 2008, could have been even worse if it weren't for some technical factors holding price growth down.