Greek deflation slows in August, prices fall for 30th month

Greece's EU-harmonized deflation rate eased in August as prices fell by 0.4 percent compared to a drop of 1.3 percent in July, data from the country's statistics service showed on Wednesday.

The headline consumer price index fell by 1.5 percent year-on-year in August, with the annual pace of deflation slowing from the previous month.

Greek consumer prices fell by an average of 1.3 percent in 2014 compared to a year earlier.

For years an inflation outlier in the eurozone, Greece has been in deflation rode for the last 30 months as cuts in wages and pensions and a deep recession exerted downward pressures.

Deflation in Greece hit its highest level in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline.

Annual inflation in the eurozone was stable in July but remained far off the European Central Bank's target. Consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.2 percent in the year to July, unchanged from June. [Reuters]