Greek EU-harmonized inflation stays negative for 12th month in March

Greece’s annual EU-harmonized inflation stayed negative for the twelfth month in a row in March, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Friday.

The reading was -2.0% year-on-year from -1.9% in February. The data also showed headline consumer price inflation at -1.6% from -1.3% in the previous month.

Prices were led lower by apparel, footwear, transport and consumer durables, affected by a second lockdown the country imposed to stem a surge in Covid-19 infections.

Greece went through a deflationary phase during its debt crisis as wage and pension cuts and a lengthy recession took a heavy toll on household incomes.

Negative inflation peaked in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2.9% year-on-year decline. The economy had emerged from deflation in June 2016 it reappeared 12 months ago.

EU-harmonised inflation is an index of components that is used across the EU to measure inflation in a consistent way.

[Reuters]