Greek deflation cools in November, prices down for 21st month
Greek consumer prices fell 1.2 percent in November, with the annual pace of deflation decelerating from a 1.7 percent drop in October, data from the country’s statistics service showed on Tuesday.
Greece’s EU-harmonized deflation rate also slowed down to -1.2 in November from a 1.8 percent drop in October, lower than a 1.6 percent decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
For years an inflation outlier in the euro zone, Greece has been in deflation mode for the last 21 months as cuts in wages and pensions and a deep recession exert downward pressures.
Deflation in Greece hit its highest level in November 2013, with consumer prices registering a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline.
Inflation in the 18 countries sharing the euro cooled to 0.3 percent in November, well below the ECB’s target of just under 2 percent.
[Reuters]
