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Eurozone inflation edges higher but still negative in May

Xinhua, May 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

The 19-country eurozone's inflation rate is expected to be minus 0.1 percent in May this year, up from minus 0.2 percent in April, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, released Tuesday.

Among the main components of the inflation data, the services sector is expected to have the highest inflation rate of 1 percent in May, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco at 0.8 percent, non-energy industrial goods at 0.5 percent, and energy at minus 8.1 percent, respectively.

Analysts say the inflation rate in May is likely to prompt further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB) at its next policy meeting on Thursday.

Europe has been troubled with deflationary pressure, and the ECB has launched a series of stimulus packages since mid-2014 in order to achieve its inflation target of "below, but close to 2 percent."

Recent efforts to prop up the fragile recovery included cutting the main interest rate to zero and expanding a bond-buying program.

In a separate report, Eurostat said the jobless rate in the eurozone held at 10.2 percent in April, the lowest since August 2011. Endi