Finland Times

In the wider 28-member European Union (EU), inflation was 0.2 percent in January, said the EU's statistic agency Eurostat.

In January, negative readings were observed in 10 member states, Eurostat said. The lowest readings were registered in Poland (-1.7 percent), Romania (-1.5 percent) and Cyprus (-1.1 percent), while the highest rates were recorded in Belgium (1.8 percent), Austria (1.4 percent) and Sweden (1.3 percent), said Eurostat.

Still, January's revised reading was far from the targeted 2.0 percent set by the bloc's central bank, urging more stimulus measures.

The European Central Bank last December announced it would extend an asset purchasing program for three months and cut a key interest rate to a record low, but the move was called "disappointing" as more policy action was needed to promote the sluggish economy.