Inflationary pressures to continue easing in eurozone: ECRI

[LONDON] Inflation pressures in the eurozone will continue to ease in the coming months, an indicator designed to predict cyclical trends showed on Friday.

Consumer prices in the eurozone fell in January at a record-matching 0.6 per cent from a year earlier, suggesting a deflationary bias, preliminary official data showed last week.

The Eurozone Future Inflation Gauge (EZFIG), a measure of the outlook for inflation published by the Economic Cycle Research Institute, edged lower to 95.5 in December from 97.6 in November.

"The EZFIG dipped in its latest reading, but remains above its earlier low. Thus, eurozone inflation pressures, though mildly elevated, have faded lately," said Lakshman Achuthan, ECRI's chief operations officer.

Germany last month became the latest eurozone country to record a negative inflation rate.

To combat falling prices in the currency bloc, the European Central Bank announced a near trillion euro sovereign bond-buying programme last month.

REUTERS