Euro zone inflation rose to 2.4 per cent in January from 2.2 per cent in December, according to the EU's statistics office.
Eurostat said the increase was mainly due to expensive energy as core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and unprocessed food prices, fell 0.9 per cent month-on-month for a year-on-year rise of 1.3 per cent, down from 1.4 per cent in December.
The ECB wants to keep consumer prices growth below 2 per cent a year and has clearly guided markets for a rate rise in March and possibly another one later this year.
The overall economic sentiment indicator, which apart from consumers includes the mood in industry, services and the retail sector, rose to 102.7 points from a revised 101.5 in January, beating a market consensus of a rise to 102.5.
Consumer sentiment, long the main drag on feeble economic growth rates in the 12 countries using the euro, improved to -10 points in February from -11 in January, a monthly European Commission survey showed.
"After the temporary dip during the first half of 2005, the indicators now appear to be regaining the upward trend that started at the beginning of 2003," the commission said.
The commission's business climate indicator, which shows the phase of the economic cycle, almost doubled to 0.61 from 0.34 in January, the highest reading since February 2001.
The commission surveys follow upbeat business sentiment figures from the euro zone's biggest economy, Germany, last week. That data hit its highest level in more than 14 years.
French consumer morale also turned more positive in February, separate data showed on Tuesday, despite an unexpected increase in unemployment in the euro zone's second-biggest economy in January.
But German unemployment in February eased less than expected, data showed. Weak fourth-quarter economic growth figures in the euro zone's biggest economies add a note of caution to the upbeat confidence surveys.
Nonetheless, economists expect the ECB will raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.5 per cent on Thursday to stem inflationary pressures from expensive oil and credit growth as the economic recovery gathers steam.