Eurozone inflation falls in February

Inflation in the eurozone slowed to 1.2 percent in February, the EU's official statistics agency said Wednesday, well off the European Central Bank's 2.0 percent target.

The figure, which was in line with a forecast by analysts at data company Factset, will make it less likely that the ECB will turn off its massive stimulus programme in the near future.

The Frankfurt-based ECB has announced it was starting to wind down the massive support it has given the 19-member currency zone to boost inflation and help Europe through the crises of recent years.

Over that period, it has set interest rates at historic lows, offered cheap loans to banks and bought tens of billions of euros per month in bonds in a bid to pump easy cash to businesses and households.