Inflation in the euro zone rose to 1.9 percent in March from 1.8 percent in February, the European Union's statistics bureau Eurostat said in its estimates on Friday.

Although it has been for seven consecutive months that the Eurozone inflation remained below the two percent ceiling set by the European Central Bank (ECB), the March inflation estimated sees the first rise in prices for this year.

It will be another warning sign for the ECB, which has been closely following the inflation pressure resulting from a robust economy in the 13-nation bloc sharing the same currency euro.

For fear of inflation risks, the ECB raised its benchmark interest rate earlier this month by another 0.25 percentage points to 3.75 percent, the seventh rise since December of last year.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet warned last week that the euro zone was still under inflation pressure as prices may hike towards the end of this year.

Some analysts expected that the ECB will raise its benchmark rate further to 4 percent at its June meeting.

Source: Xinhua