Greek EU-harmonized inflation picks up to 1.1% in December

    ATHENS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Greece's annual EU-harmonised
inflation rate accelerated in December, statistics service
ELSTAT data showed on Monday.
    The reading was 1.1% from 0.5% in November. The data also
showed that headline consumer price inflation picked up to 0.8%
from 0.2% in the previous month.
    Greece had been in a protracted deflation mode since March
2013 based on its headline index, as wage and pension cuts and a
multi-year recession took a heavy toll on household incomes.
    Deflation in the country hit its highest level in Nov. 2013
when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year
decline. The economy emerged from deflation in June 2016.
    Euro zone inflation jumped to 1.3% in December from 1.0% in
November as energy prices rebounded and the cost of food
products rose.             
 
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KEY FIGURES    DEC  NOV  OCT   SEPT  AUG
EU-harmonised  1.1  0.5  -0.3  0.2   0.1
CPI y/y        0.8  0.2  -0.7 -0.1  -0.2
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Source: ELSTAT

 (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)