- European Central Bank
Growth and inflation risks are mounting in the Euro zone, the minutes of the European Central Bank's January meeting showed, and some policy makers are arguing for the need to act pre-emptively in the face of new threats. Low inflation could become entrenched, with poor wage growth already suggesting that weak crude prices are feeding into other prices, while China's downturn was also dimming the outlook as the risk of a hard landing for its economy rose, the ECB said.
Meanwhile, the Euro zone current account surplus shrunk in December when compared to the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ECB. The current account surplus declined to 25.5 billion euros during the final month of 2015, from an upwardly revised 26.9 billion euros reported in November. A separate report showed, annual consumer prices in France remained unchanged in January. The cost of living in France climbed 0.2% in January, compared with the same period a year ago. Measured on a monthly basis, the consumer price index plunged 1.0% in the reported month. The so-called Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices showed annual inflation climbed at a pace of 0.3% year-on-year, compared with the previous month's 0.3% increase. On a monthly basis, the HICP slid 1.1% in January, compared with the 0.2% growth seen in the previous month.
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