STOXX 600 marks best week since March end
Tech sector records highest weekly gain since Jan
Ericsson falls after quarterly profit slumps

July 14 Reuters European shares edged slightly lower on Friday, but that did little to change their biggest weekly percentage jump in more than three months on hopes that easing inflation would allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes soon.

After five sessions of gains, the panEuropean STOXX 600 index closed 0.1 lower, as oil and gas stocks dropped 2.1 on falling crude prices.

The index has gained nearly 3 this week, marking its best week since the end of March, recouping almost all of last week39;s losses.

We have also had central bankers saying that the evidence that inflation is moving back to their target in a quick manner is still not enough, being more focused on the risks, said Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank.

Reports on U.S. inflation readings stoked speculation that the economy had entered a disinflation phase and the Fed could pause its tightening soon after delivering a 25 basis points rate hike in July.

Euro zone government bond yields have also fallen as traders started to pare back rate hike bets from the European Central Bank, according to analysts.

Shortterm interest rate markets for the ECB are seeing perhaps one, maybe two more interest rate hikes this year, said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM.

Data showed consumer prices in Sweden grew faster than expected in…