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Athens - A drop in Greek consumer prices accelerated in May, official data showed on Tuesday, as the European Central Bank battled to prevent deflation from gripping the eurozone.
Prices in May fell 2.0% from the level a year ago, a steeper drop than in April and March, when the slide was registered at 1.3%.
On a monthly basis, the decline stood at 0.8%.
The sharpest drop was recorded for clothing, at 8.9%, while a 1.0% drop was seen for food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Over 2013, prices fell 0.9% after an inflation of 1% in 2012 and 3.1% in 2011.
The European Central Bank rolled out on Thursday an unprecedented package of measures, including negative interest rates, in its fight to head off the spectre of deflation, and a vicious cycle of falling prices and activity, in the euro area.
The ECB slashed its deposit rate, the rate at which the central bank pays commercial banks for depositing their unused cash, from zero percent to minus 0.10%.
This means that banks will be charged for parking funds at the ECB, a measure that the ECB bank hopes would incite commercial banks to lend the funds to businesses and consumers instead.
