Inflation ticks up in Europe, complicating the European Central Bank’s next move

AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro ticked up to 2.6% in July, stubbornly above the European Central Bank’s target and complicating the ECB’s next decision on whether to cut interest rates and boost growth as the economy struggles to stage a convincing recovery from more than a year of stagnation. Inflation rose from 2.5% in June, according to official figures Wednesday from the EU statistics agency Eurostat. Services inflation, a figure closely watched by the ECB, remained elevated at 4.0%, down from 4.1%