Eurozone inflation slides into ‘danger zone’: ECBJuly 31, 2014 - 17:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Eurozone inflation has fallen to its lowest level since the height of the financial crisis, sliding further into what the European Central Bank (ECB) has described as a "danger zone", BBC News reports. Prices rose in the single currency area by 0.4% in July, from 0.5% in June. The ECB considers that an inflation rate of below 1% poses a risk of deflation. Separate figures show that unemployment in the region fell slightly to 11.5% in June compared to 11.6% in May. The new inflation figures from the European Union's statistical office, Eurostat, show that the rate remains persistently below the ECB's target rate of 2%. Prices have risen at an annualized rate of less than 1% for the last ten months. Central Bank governor, Mario Draghi, has previously warned that he would deem inflation below 1% to be in a "danger zone", which could lead to prices tipping into a deflationary spiral. In June the ECB introduced a package of measures to boost growth and tackle the threat of inflation. It cut interest rates, including reducing the bank deposit rate to below zero, and made available cheap long term loans to banks. It promised to stand ready to take more action if inflation continued to fall. The eurozone jobs data provided a gentle pointer in the opposite direction, however, towards stronger growth. The number of registered unemployed in the eurozone stood at 18.41 million in June, down 152,000 from May. The unemployment rate in the 18-nation single currency region June dipped to 11.5% compared to 12% a year ago. In the wider 28-member European Union the jobless rate also edged lower from 10.3% in May to 10.2% in June. Austria's unemployment rate is the lowest in the region at 5%, followed by Germany at 5.1%. However, Greece, with an unemployment rate of 27.3% and Spain, at 24.5%, are still grappling with severe levels of joblessness. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |