CONSUMER PRICES FALL FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OCTOBER

Madrid/Palma.—Spain’s inflation rate dropped to zero in February, an official estimate showed yesterday, as fears of a damaging deflationary spiral haunted sluggish eurozone economies.
Consumer prices were unchanged in February after edging up by just 0.3 percent in January, according to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute.
Falling prices for fuel and lubricants kept a lid on inflation, the institute said in a report. February’s inflation rate, if confirmed, was the lowest since October 2013 when consumer prices were also flat.