German inflation raises QE stakes

German inflation slowed to its lowest level in over five years in December, raising pressure on European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to unveil unconventional measures later this month to ward off a deflationary spiral in the eurozone.

Preliminary data showed yesterday that annual inflation, harmonised for comparison with other European countries, fell to just 0.1% from 0.5% in November.

Non-harmonised data showed consumer prices increasing 0.2% year-on-year in December, down from 0.6% in the previous month.