Worrying eurozone inflation sags again to 0.3 pct

Inflation in the 18 countries that use the euro sank to 0.3 per cent in August. A worrying sign of economic weakness that is putting pressure on the European Central Bank to take drastic steps to save a stalling recovery. The figure was down from 0.4 per cent in July, statistics agency Eurostat said Friday, and is the lowest since October 2009. Back then the eurozone was deep in recession following the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers. The low inflation figure comes amid increasing worry about the health of the modest recovery in Europe's currency union, a major pillar of the global economy with some 17 per cent of world annual output. The eurozone showed no growth at all in the second quarter as fears about the Ukrainian crisis weighed on consumers and investment decisions. Unemployment remained high at 11.5 per cent in July, unchanged from the month before. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, sent a modestly brighter signal as it rose to 0.9 per cent from 0.8 per cent, according to AP.