Pressure mounted on the European Central Bank yesterday to cut interest rates after inflation slowed sharply in the euro area, while Berlin hit back at a jibe from the US Treasury that laid the blame for deflationary trends at its door.
The euro area’s annual inflation rate unexpectedly slowed to 0.7 per cent in October, well below the ECB’s target of close to, but below, 2 per cent.
The slowdown came as Germany, the biggest eurozone economy, reacted angrily to accusations by the US Treasury that its large and persistent current account surpluses created a deflationary bias in the global economy. The Treasury called on Berlin to do more to boost domestic demand.