Tuesday, September 30, 2014

EU Inflation Slows to Five Year Low

Eurozone inflation slipped again in September, with prices rising at their slowest rate in nearly five years.

Consumer price inflation rose by just 0.3% compared to the same month last year, slowing from August’s 0.4% rise, said EU statistics agency Eurostat.

It is the lowest level for eurozone inflation since October 2009, adding to fears of a deflationary spiral.

Inflation has been persistently below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target rate.

Eurostat said falls in the prices of unprocessed food and energy had driven the overall slowdown.

Unprocessed food prices fell 0.9% year-on-year, while energy dropped 2.4%.

Earlier this month, the European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.05%, and introduced new stimulus measures in an attempt to kick-start the eurozone economy.

However, the dramatic move fell short of a programme of buying government bonds – a process known as quantitative easing (QE), and one which the US Federal Reserve has undertaken.

via BBC

0 коментарі:

Post a Comment