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Sept 2 (Reuters) -

European shares inched lower on Monday as investors braced

for a data-intensive week and awaited speeches from several

European Central Bank officials, keenly watching for clues about

the central bank's policy direction in the coming week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2% by

0712 GMT after hitting an all-time high last week as inflation

in the euro zone fell to 2.2% in August, its slowest pace since

July 2021.

Miners were the top losers with a 1.3% fall after

most base metals begun September on a weaker note as the market

trimmed bets about an aggressive policy easing in the U.S. and

China's manufacturing data increased demand concerns.

Rightmove ( RTMVF ) jumped 24.5% after REA Group ( RPGRF ), the

property listings company majority-owned by News Corp ( NWSA ),

said it was considering buying the British firm to create a

global real estate giant.

Sanofi rose 2.5%. Its most advanced multiple

sclerosis (MS) drug candidate missed the main goal of two

late-stage trials to treat relapsing forms of the disease,

dimming the prospects for a widely-pursued class of drugs.

For the day, investors will track manufacturing data for

August from Germany, Spain and consolidated 20-country euro zone

at around 0800 GMT to gauge the strength of the economies in the

region.