(Bloomberg) -- Euro-area core inflation was revised higher in April, and is now showing the fastest reading since 2017.

Updating its estimate for last month, Eurostat said the rate of underlying price growth was 1.3%, up from 1.2% in an initial estimate. The April reading was far higher than the 0.8% seen in March, but the big jump partly reflects the timing of Easter and its traditional impact on services such as airfares, package holidays and hotels.

Despite the increase, core inflation remains in a tight range and 1.3% has been a ceiling it hasn’t broken through in almost four years. The last higher reading was 1.5% back in October 2015.

The European Central Bank, which wants inflation to be just below 2% on a sustainable basis, has delayed plans for interest-rate cuts to provide more support to the economy. It’s also planning new loans for banks and will probably announce more details on those early next month.

The headline inflation rate was 1.7% in April, unchanged from the initial estimate.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.