Greek deflation slows down in June

A man buys from a kiosk at central Syntagma square in Athens April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek consumer prices fell 1.1 percent in June, with the annual pace of deflation decelerating from a 2 percent fall in prices in May, data from the country's statistics service showed on Wednesday.

The EU-harmonised deflation rate also slowed down to -1.5 percent in June from -2.1 percent in May, broadly in line with a -1.6 percent rate expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

In November, deflation in Greece hit its highest level since monthly records began in 1960, registering a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline.

Euro zone inflation held steady at 0.5 percent in June, still within the danger zone of under 1 percent, which keeps pressure on the European Central Bank to take action to stop the threat of deflation.


(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris)