Inflation at 5-Year Low Primes ECB for Deflation Debate

Euro-area inflation slowed in September to the lowest level in five years, challenging European Central Bank officials gathering this week to decide whether more measures are needed to avert deflation.

Consumer prices rose an annual 0.3 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey and follows a reading of 0.4 percent in August. Unemployment held at 11.5 percent in August, Eurostat said in a separate report.