Greek consumer price inflation picks up to 0.8 pct in February

Greece's annual EU-harmonized inflation rate accelerated in February, statistics service ELSTAT data showed on Tuesday.

The reading was 0.8 percent from 0.5 percent in January. The data showed that headline consumer price inflation also picked up to 0.6 percent year-on year from 0.4 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 November 2013 when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline. The economy emerged from deflation in June 2016. [Reuters]