Eurozone unemployment, inflation \\\'fall\\\'

BRUSSELS, July 31 (AFP): Eurozone unemployment and inflation data painted a mixed economic picture Thursday, with the jobless rate edging down while softer prices raised question marks over consumer demand, clouding the outlook.
The jobless rate in the 18-nation eurozone fell to 11.5 per cent in June from 11.6 per cent in May, hitting the lowest level since September 2012, the Eurostat statistics agency said.
July inflation dropped to 0.4 per cent from June's 0.5 per cent, to the lowest since late 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Declining inflation increases the risk of outright falling prices, known as deflation, which deters consumers from spending in the belief they can wait and buy more cheaply later.
If that happens, demand suffers and companies put off investment, hurting employment and so setting off a vicious circle which can drag down the whole economy.
In July 2013, inflation ran at 1.6 per cent, even then still well short of the European Central Bank target of around 2.0 per cent.
The ECB has moved in recent months to stimulate the economy and will likely face fresh calls to do more.
The July inflation report "underlines the weakness of price pressures (in the eurozone) and support our view that the ECB has more work to do to tackle the risk of deflation," said Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics.
Eurostat said there were 18.41 million people without a job in the euro single currency area in June, down 152,000 from May and 783,000 compared with June 2013 when the unemployment rate stood at 12 per cent.