Inflation Worries in Euroland

The Wall Street Journal:  Deflation may still be a worry in the periphery of the EU (Ireland,Greece,Portugal, Spain, etc.), but in the core countries (especially Germany) inflation is now looking worrisome.  “Very close monitoring of price developments is warranted,” the ECB said in its January bulletin, issued Thursday, though officials said they still expect inflation to remain under wraps over the medium term. The European Central Bank warned that commodity and food prices could push euro-zone inflation higher, the latest sign of concern from officials about the buildup of price pressures in the currency bloc.

Inflation risks are mounting in the bloc’s largest economy, Germany, where industrial prices jumped last month at their fatstest pace in two years and union workers in the metals sector secured an earlier-than-expected pay increase. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.….