CONSUMER prices in the 16-member eurozone tumbled deeper into negative territory in September, according to data released on 30 September. Annual consumer prices slipped to minus 0.3% in September from minus 0.2% in August, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said.
Eurozone prices slumped to a record low of minus 0.7% in July, as lower energy prices and the global economic slowdown undercut inflationary pressures in Europe.
A European Commission survey released on 29 September showed economic confidence in the eurozone hitting a 12-month high in September. The Commission said that its economic sentiment survey for the eurozone rose to 82.8 points in September from 80.8 in August, an increase that was in line with economists’ forecasts.
But,Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) quoted ING Bank economist Martin van Vliet as saying: “The bottom line is that, despite the further improvement in September, economic sentiment remains fragile.”
That said, the survey on 29 September helps to raise expectations that the eurozone will emerge from recession during the third quarter after the region’s currency contracted by just 0.1% in the three months to the end of June.
The release of the Eurozone’s preliminary inflationary data forms part of the buildup to next week European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.
However, analysts believe that the ECB is at present  in no rush to raise interest rates until signs emerge that eurozone  is taking hold.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini denied on 29 September news reports that quoted him as saying that the European Central Bank (ECB) presidency should go to an Italian. “I’ve learned from the media that I have proposed [Italian Central Bank Governor Mario] Draghi as successor to [ECB President Jean-Claude] Trichet. It is not true and it could not be true,” Frattini said, according to a foreign ministry statement. “It is not possible to promote any candidate, since the norms and procedures for the appointment of the next ECB president will only be made known in a year’s time,” Frattini added.
An earlier news report quoted Frattini as saying that it should be Italy’s turn to fill the ECB presidency when Trichet’s current mandate expires in 2011. The report also cited an Italian television interview, in which Frattini reportedly said that Italy would be “honoured” if Bank of Italy Governor and Financial Stability Board chairman Mario Draghi were named as the ECB’s next president.