BRUSSELS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Cheaper energy and food pulled down consumer prices in the euro zone in September against the year-earlier month as expected, data showed on Thursday.
Consumer prices remained unchanged in September against August for a 0.3 percent year-on-year decline, the European Union's statistics office said, confirming its earlier estimate of the annual measure and meeting market expectations.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 0.2 percent on the month. It continued to decline in year-on-year terms, to 1.1 percent from August's 1.2 percent.
The European Central Bank wants inflation to be just below 2 percent over the medium term and has kept interest rates unchanged at a record low of 1 percent since May.
It watches core inflation closely for signs of inflationary pressure.
Economists expect that despite signs of economic recovery, the ECB will keep interest rates unchanged until the third quarter of 2010 because inflation is low and inflation expectations are anchored at the ECB's price stability target.
September was the fourth straight month of falling prices in the 16-country euro zone, but ECB Governing Council member Ivan Sramko said in Bratislava there was growing conviction that the single currency area would not experience deflation.
The Eurostat data showed energy prices fell 1.2 percent on the month for an 11 percent year-on-year decline. Food prices were flat against August and 1.3 percent lower than a year before. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)