Investing.com - Inflation in the euro zone slowed to a seven-month low in January, data confirmed on Friday, even though the monthly decline in prices was a fraction less than at first thought.
The bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said the consumer price index rose 1.4% in January from the same month a year earlier, down from 1.5% in December. Prices for the month of January fell 1%, from an initial estimate of -1.1%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose to an annual rate of 1.1% from 1.0% in the previous month, but that is still well below the level targeted by the European Central Bank, which aims for an inflation rate of close to, but just below 2% in the medium term.
The bloc is expected to have another weak first-quarter after data on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest pace in six years amid Brexit woes, a slowdown in German exports and political risks in Italy.
The slowdown in the euro zone has led the European Central Bank to consider fresh stimulus measures. The ECB is expected to cut its growth forecasts at its policy meeting in March, and ECB officials have said they expect to discuss issuing a new round of so-called TLTROs - targeted long-term refinancing operations - to help stimulate the economy.