BRUSSELS (AP) — Inflation across the 19-country eurozone held steady in November at 0.1 percent over the year, reinforcing the case for the European Central Bank to deliver a further big stimulus for the region this week.
The increase reported Wednesday by the European Union’s statistics agency was below market expectations for a modest uptick to 0.2 percent.
Perhaps more concerning for policymakers is that the core rate, which strips out volatile prices for energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent. The market consensus was for the rate to remain unchanged.
Low inflation is the main reason why the ECB is expected to deliver another stimulus Thursday.
___
This story has been corrected to show the core inflation rate fell to 0.9 percent and did not remain unchanged.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.