Eurozone inflation rises to zero in October

Inflation in the 19-country eurozone rose to zero percent in October after falling into negative territory last month, official data showed on Friday.

The rise was a welcome reading but hard to deter the zone's central bank from considering to expand its massive asset purchasing program.

The annual inflation in September was negative 0.1 percent, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistic agency of the European Union (EU).

The price of food, alcohol and tobacco was expected to rise by 1.5 percent, up from the 1.4 percent in September. The services sector followed, up by 1.3 percent, also a welcome reading compared with the 1.2 percent of September.

The energy price shrunk by 8.7 percent, dragging down inflation, but the reading was less than the negative 8.9 percent last month.

Eurostat said unemployment in the zone also declined to 10.8 percent in September.

Despite the inflation and jobless rates both making small improvements, economists cautioned that the figures were still too weak to persuade the European Central Bank (ECB) to delay increasing its stimulus measures.

It is broadly expected that the ECB will increase its monetary policy support in December. ECB President Mario Draghi earlier suggested that the bank may expand its massive asset purchasing program as the hope faded that the zone could reach its targeted 2 percent inflation goal.

The bank in March embarked on a massive trillion-euro asset purchases program and has since been buying 60 billion euros (66 billion U.S. dollars) of assets every month, aiming to shore up the zone's economy and hit the inflation target. Endit