Consumer prices in the eurozone fell 0.2 percent in December, entering negative territory for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, EU data showed on Wednesday.
The drop, brought on by plummeting oil prices, is the first concrete sign of much-feared deflation in the now 19 nation currency zone. Deflation is officially defined by prices falling over a longer period.
The European Union's data agency Eurostat also reported that unemployment remained at 11.5 percent in November, unchanged from October.