Inflation in the eurozone has descended to its lowest level since October 2009.
The five-year low was announced by Eurostat which said that September’s consumer price inflation is expected to be just 0.3% on average, down from 0.4% the month before.
Eurostat said falls in the prices of unprocessed food and energy had driven the overall slowdown.
Unprocessed food prices fell 0.9% year-on-year, while energy dropped 2.4%.
Services, on the other hand, have increased in price, as have alcohol, tobacco and some food items.
Economists fear that a deflationary spiral could widen, especially with Portugal, Greece and Spain having already entered deflation.
The European Central Bank’s target inflation rate remains at 2%, much higher than reality through the eurozone.
The Bank has introduced some measures to boost the economy, but pressure is mounting for it to introduce quantitative easing. Observers await the result of a meeting of the Bank’s governing council on Thursday.
Eurostat’s flash estimates do not include a country breakdown, so there was nothing specific on Portugal. This will follow later in October.
