Greek consumer price inflation picks up to 0.5 pct in April

Greece's annual EU-harmonised inflation rate accelerated in April, statistics service ELSTAT data showed on Thursday.

The reading in April was 0.5 percent from 0.2 percent in March. The data showed the headline consumer price index flat at zero percent year-on-year from -0.2 percent in the previous month.

Greece had been in a protracted deflation mode since March 2013 based on its headline index, as wage and pension cuts and a multi-year recession took a heavy toll on Greek household incomes.

Deflation in the country hit its highest level in Nov. 2013 when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline. The economy emerged from deflation in June 2016. [Reuters]