Economist: For The ECB, It's No Longer About Oil

Second-round effects need to be addressed to avoid outright deflation.
Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg
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Inflation in the euro area came in at 0.2 percent in February, piling further pressure on policymakers at the European Central Bank ahead of next week's monetary policy meeting.

While the largest component of the price fall in the common currency zone remains energy, the ECB is becoming increasingly concerned about second round effects and the prospect of the oil-price collapse pushing the euro area into deflation.