ATHENS: Greece's annual EU-harmonised inflation rate turned positive in February after a deflationary reading in January, statistics service data showed on Thursday.
February's print of 0.1 percent was above market expectations. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a negative 0.6 percent rate after January's 0.1 percent drop.
The data showed the headline consumer price index fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in February, with the annual pace of deflation slowing from -0.7 percent in the previous month.
Consumer prices were led higher by foods and non-alcoholic beverages, tobacco, apparel and footwear, durable goods and medical care costs.
For years an inflation outlier in the euro zone, Greece had been in deflation mode for the last two and a half years as wage and pension cuts and a protracted recession took a heavy toll on Greek household income.
Deflation in Greece, which signed up to its first international bailout in 2010, hit its highest level in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline.
Euro zone annual inflation fell by more than expected and into negative territory in February, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy further.
According to EU statistics agency Eurostat consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro dropped by 0.2 percent year-on-year from a 0.3 rise in January.
Comments
Comments are closed.