Europe Risks ‘Deflationary Spiral’ As German Data Raises Alarm

If Christine Lagarde and the ECB were already fretting about deflation risks in the months ahead, they're likely a bit more concerned Tuesday, with the caveat that interpreting CPI data is an even more imprecise exercise in the post-pandemic reality than it would be in normal times. Germany, where consumer prices have declined in recent months, reported a preliminary 0.4% YoY decline in the harmonized index on Tuesday. That matches the most pessimistic estimate from 30 economists and is far wor