Eurozone deflation accelerates in January to -0.6%: Eurostat

[BRUSSELS] Eurozone consumer prices fell by an alarming 0.6 per cent in January, accelerating further into negative territory and confirming deflation could be settling-in for the long term, EU data showed on Friday.

The drop, brought on by plummeting oil prices, follows a historic decision by the European Central Bank last week to launch a 1.14-trillion-euro (US$1.27-trillion) bond-buying spree to drive up inflation in the 19-nation euro area.

The European Union's data agency Eurostat also reported that unemployment slipped to 11.4 per cent in December, down from 11.5 per cent in November and 11.8 per cent a year before.

AFP