FRANKFURT, March 2 Reuters Euro zone inflation held steady as expected last month, taking a break in what is likely to be a temporary but sharp spike in consumer prices in the coming months, data showed on Tuesday.

Prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose by 0.2 on the month in January and 0.9 compared to a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations, a flash estimate from Eurostat, the European Unions statistics office, showed.

Prices are likely to rise further, driven by a slew of oneoff factors, and inflation could even exceed the European Central Banks 2 target in the coming months, challenging the banks projection for a 1 average inflation rate this year.

Still, the upside surprises are unlikely to prompt the ECB to tighten policy, as the spike is considered temporary and inflation is likely to fall sharply towards the end of the year, staying well below the ECBs target for years thereafter.

Much of the monthly price increase was driven by rising food and fuel prices but the growth in underlying prices slowed, another reason for the ECB not to hurry with policy tightening.

Prices excluding volatile food and energy prices, which the ECB define as core inflation, slowed to 1.2 from 1.4 a month earlier while an even narrower measure, which excludes alcohol and tobacco prices, slowed to 1.1 from 1.4.

The rebound in crude oil prices and the reversal of the German value added tax cut are the biggest factors driving inflation higher this year while new…