Germany has become the latest eurozone member state to succumb to deflation, with the first fall in prices since autumn 2009, supporting the case for last week’s landmark quantitative easing package from the European Central Bank.
Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said yesterday it expected harmonised consumer prices, calculated to fit with the broader eurozone calculation, to decline 0.5 per cent in the year to January — a fall from a rise in costs of 0.1 per cent in the year to December.
The plunge was almost entirely due to the collapse in oil prices, with energy costs falling 9 per cent during the 12 months. The last time prices fell in the eurozone’s largest economy was
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