Euro-Area Inflation Rate Turns Negative as ECB Debates Stimulus
- Consumer prices declined 0.1 percent from year earlier
- Jobless rate remained unchanged at 11 percent in August
Euro-Area Inflation Rate Takes Negative Turn in Sept.
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The euro area’s inflation rate unexpectedly turned negative in September for the first time in six months, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to bolster stimulus.
Consumer prices in the 19-nation currency bloc fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier, according to a preliminary report published by the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg on Wednesday. Economists predicted an inflation rate of zero, according to the median estimate of 38 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Unemployment in the region remained unchanged in August at 11 percent, Eurostat said in a separate release.