Negative inflation may come in the euro zone

Plunging oil prices could push eurozone inflation into negative territory during “some months” in the first half of 2016, European Central Bank (ECB) board member Ewald Nowotny said on Friday.

Eurozone inflation remained stuck at 0.2 percent in December, a long way below the ECB's stated target of just below 2 percent, despite ongoing efforts by the bank to kickstart consumer prices.

Nowotny told reporters oil prices were weighing not just on overall prices, but also on underlying, or core, inflation, a measure which strips out food and energy prices. (MTI, tozsdeforum.hu)