Eurozone's December inflation turns negative
Drop may spur European Central Bank to start government bond-buying
Brussels
EUROZONE inflation turned negative in December for the first time since 2009, with cheap oil driving a bigger than expected decline that may prompt the European Central Bank to start printing money.
The European statistics office said in a first estimate on Wednesday that prices in the 18 countries using the euro in December were 0.2 per cent lower than a year before, after rising 0.3 per cent in November. The last time eurozone inflation was negative was in October 2009, when it was -0.1 per cent.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
Xi tells Blinken US, China should be 'partners, not rivals'
Indonesia’s push for regional economic integration to continue under Prabowo: Vivian Balakrishnan
Outgoing Singapore, Indonesia leaders to hold their final retreat in Bogor on Apr 29
Beijing city to subsidise domestic AI chips, targets self-reliance by 2027
China passes tariff law as tensions with trading partners simmer
Blinken meets Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing