Euro-area inflation accelerated beyond the European Central Bank's target, cementing expectations that officials will keep interest rates steady when they meet next week.

Consumer prices rose 2.1% from a year ago in August, edging up from 2% the previous month and meeting the estimates of economists in a Bloomberg poll. A core measure that strips out volatile components like energy and food held at 2.3%. Closely watched gains in services prices eased to 3.1%.