Worryingly low inflation in the euro zone may have spurred deflation fears, but it’s actually a sign that the region’s economy is recovering from its crisis, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told CNBC.
“The relatively low inflation at the moment is part of the phase which we are in, which is dealing with some of the macroeconomic problems,” said the leader of the forum of the EU’s finance ministers.
“If you strengthen your competitiveness, if you manage to bring back the cost of labor – and a number of Eurozone countries are doing exactly that at the moment – it inevitably leads to a lower inflation,” Dijsselbloem said.
“The lower inflation is part of the economic recovery and the restructuring and it’s inevitable. I’m not particularly worried that it’ll go further,” he said.
In December, consumer price inflation in the region was only 0.8 percent year-on-year, below expectations, after rising only 0.9 percent in November and still only slightly above October’s 47-month low of 0.7 percent, adding to concerns deflation might emerge.
