Eurozone inflation picks up in October owing to rise in energy prices

Consumer prices in the eurozone picked up during the month of October, owing to rise in energy prices.

Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent year-on-year in October, picking up from 0.4 percent in September and 0.2 percent in August as the drag on the index from energy diminished, data released by statistics agency Eurostat showed Monday.

Energy prices were only 0.9 percent lower in October than 12 months earlier, compared to 3.0 percent lower in September, 5.6 percent lower in August and 6.7 percent lower than in July.

However, excluding the most volatile prices for unprocessed food and energy, inflation was 0.7 percent year-on-year, down from 0.8 percent in the previous five months.

The European Central Bank wants inflation to be higher, close to 2 percent over the medium term and it has been buying euro zone government bonds on the secondary market to inject more cash into the banking system and make banks lend the money to the real economy.