Euro zone inflation dips as expected in August

Euro zone inflation dropped as expected to a fresh five year low in August, data showed on Friday, but it was not likely to force the European Central Bank into immediate policy intervention next week, Consumer prices in the 18 countries using the euro rose by just 0.3 percent year-on-year in August, the smallest increase since October 2009, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat data showed. Inflation, which dropped unexpectedly to 0.4 percent in July, has been locked in what ECB President Mario Draghi called a 'danger zone' of below 1 percent since October last year. Vanishing inflation strengthens poses problems for the ECB as it tries to respond to the bloc's stalled recovery, which is facing additional struggles because of economic sanctions imposed against Russia in July over its involvement in the deepening conflict in Ukraine.

via Business News http://ift.tt/1n22uaj