Annual inflation in the euro area was -0.3 percent in February this year, up from -0.6 percent in January this year, according to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In February 2014, the annual inflation rate was 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, in the European Union (EU-28) annual inflation was -0.2 percent in February, up from -0.5 percent in January. In February 2014, the annual inflation rate in the EU-28 was 0.8 percent.
In February this year, annual inflation in the EU-28 increased in 17 states, fell in six states and remained stable in four states as compared with January (no data were provided for the UK). The lowest inflation rates were observed in Greece (-1.9%), Bulgaria (-1.7%) and Lithuania (-1.5%), while the highest were observed in Sweden (0.7%), Malta (0.6%), Austria (0.5%), Romania (0.4%) and Italy (0.1%).