- Eckart Tuchtfeld, an analyst at Commerzbank AG
Consumer prices in the 17-nation currency bloc turned lower to 2.0% from January 2012, down from 2.2% in December, and on par with the ECB's 2% inflation target, as consumers had to pay more for goods and services. The lowest rates were registered in Greece, Portugal and Latvia, which reported inflation of 0%, 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. On the other hand, the highest rate of 5.1% was recorded in Romania. The overall slowdown came as widespread austerity and weakening economies left consumers with little free cash to spend.
Other economic data out on Thursday included employment data from Europe's largest economy, where unemployment unexpectedly fell in February, pointing at stabilisation in the beginning of the year. The number of people out of work in Germany dropped by 3,000 to 2.92 million, data from Federal Labor Agency showed. The overall unemployment rate, however, stood at 6.9% in February, after the January rate was revised up from an initially reported 6.8%.
"The labour market seems to be coping well with the plunge in activity last autumn," said Eckart Tuchtfeld, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in London.
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