Inflation in the eurozone stood at -0.6% in January. This was the lowest recorded rate since January 2009.
Portugal’s -0.4% was close to the eurozone average. Over the course of the last six months, the rate in Portugal has been fluctuating around the 0.1% mark, but tumbled in December to -0.3% and dropped another point in January.
Looking at the EU as a whole, twenty-three nations experienced negative inflation. Only Malta, Austria, Romania, Sweden and the UK had positive inflation rates above zero.
In general, there were price rises in cost of eating in restaurants and cafes and also in rent increases, but these were outweighed by drops in the cost of fuel for transport, in heating oil, and in telecommunications.
