Greek deflation slows in August, prices fall for 30th month

[ATHENS] Greece's EU-harmonised deflation rate eased in August as prices fell by 0.4 per cent compared to a drop of 1.3 per cent in July, data from the country's statistics service showed on Wednesday.

The headline consumer price index fell by 1.5 per cent year-on-year in August, with the annual pace of deflation slowing from the previous month.

Greek consumer prices fell by an average of 1.3 per cent in 2014 compared to a year earlier.

For years an inflation outlier in the euro zone, Greece has been in deflation mode for the last 30 months as cuts in wages and pensions and a deep recession exerted downward pressures.

Deflation in Greece hit its highest level in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2.9 per cent year-on-year decline.

Annual inflation in the euro zone was stable in July but remained far off the European Central Bank's target. Consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.2 per cent in the year to July, unchanged from June.

REUTERS