UK inflation falls in Nov to lowest rate in over 2 years
German producer prices fall more than expected in Nov
Spanish government to buy stake in Telefonica, shares up
DHL falls on U.S. FedEx39;s profit miss

Dec 20 Reuters Europe39;s benchmark stock index erased early gains on Wednesday, dragged by a slide in Belgian pharmaceutical company argenx, even as the telecom sector got a boost from Telefonica shares after the Spanish government unveiled plans to buy a stake.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 was down 0.2 by 0923 GMT, after gaining as much as 0.5 earlier on rising bets of interest rate cuts following soft inflation prints.

Data showed German producer prices fell more than expected in November, a day after another set confirmed that euro zone inflation slowed sharply to 2.4 last month on a yearonyear basis. The German DAX, however, dipped 0.1.

Following the federal government39;s decisions on the 2024 federal budget, it is becoming apparent that the inflation rate in Germany will not fall again in January but will probably even increase slightly further, Commerzbank Research analysts noted.

This could also affect other groups of goods in the following months and thus contribute to the core inflation rate stabilizing well above the ECB39;s target of 2.

Meanwhile, British inflation dropped way more than expected last month, with the headline rate falling to its September 2021 lows. UK39;s FTSE 100 climbed 0.9, hitting its highest level since late May.

Cooling…