Inflation in the eurozone has fallen to a new five-year low and unemployment has remained stubbornly high, piling more pressure on the European Central Bank to launch drastic action ahead of its key policy meeting tomorrow.
Official data released yesterday underscored the scale of the task facing the ECB, as the single currency bloc faces weak growth, high unemployment and the threat of deflation.
Prices rose by 0.3 per cent in September, a fall from 0.4 per cent in August, official statistics showed. Unemployment held steady in August at 11.5 per cent. The figures are likely to fuel debate within the ECB before the interest-rate policy decision tomorrow.
Last month, the ECB cut rates to 0.05 per cent and promised to launch a version of