Eurozone consumer prices fall less than expected

Eurozone consumer prices fell less than economists forecast last month, offering some relief to the ECB as it prepares to put its unprecedented bond-buying program into action.

The annual rate of inflation in the 19-nation bloc stood at minus 0.3% in February, according to data published by the EU’s statistics office in Luxembourg yesterday. Unemployment fell to 11.2% in January, the lowest since April 2012, according to revised Eurostat data.

The data come just three days before a Governing Council meeting that will produce details on the ECB’s €1.1trn asset-purchase program and an update on inflation and growth projections. While the latest data, along with an increase in oil from its recent low, may indicate the worst of the price slump is passing, the eurozone economy remains weak and burdened by high unemployment.