EU: Eurozone Inflation Rises to 0.9% in November

Eurozone inflation rose to 0.9 percent in November from a four-year low of 0.7 percent in October, easing concerns the bloc risks a damaging cycle of falling prices, official data showed Friday.

Eurostat data showed that energy prices continued to fall in November, down 1.1 percent after a drop of 1.7 percent in October, while food, drinks and alcohol rose 1.6 percent, compared with a gain of 1.9 percent.

The debt crisis has savaged growth and jobs in the 17-nation single currency eurozone, with government austerity policies sucking demand out of the economy.

Inflation has fallen steadily as a result -- it ran at 2.2 percent in November 2012 -- and October's reading had sparked a flurry of concern that deflation, or falling prices in real terms, was looming.

Deflation is a key risk as it encourages consumers to put off buying goods in the expectation that if they wait, they will become cheaper.

That dampens demand, adding to the downward pressure in the economy as companies hold back from investment, in turn impacting jobs and demand in a vicious circle.

The European Central Bank bases its monetary policy on keeping inflation at near to 2.0 percent and earlier this month cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low 0.25 percent from 0.50 percent in another effort to keep the struggling economy on track.

The eurozone escaped a record 18-month recession in the second quarter this year with growth of 0.3 percent but that slowed alarmingly to just 0.1 percent in the third, sparking calls for the ECB to do more.