Eurozone inflation rises slightly in February

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Chinese media) -- Annual inflation in the euro zone rose slightly in February, but remained well low, the European Union (EU)'s statistics bureau Eurostat estimated on Monday.

In February, inflation in the 16 EU nations that use the euro stood at 1.2 percent, higher than 1.1 percent in January.

The index remained well below the two-percent ceiling preferred by the European Central Bank (ECB) to maintain price stability.

Inflation in the euro zone has retreated from its peak last summer in recent months thanks to a fall of oil prices, which paved the way for the ECB to reduce its benchmark interest rate to support economy which has been in deep recession amid the financial crisis.

It was widely expected that the Frankfurt-based ECB will cut its interest rate further on Thursday by another half percentage point to 1.5 percent, the lowest level since the bank came into being in 1999.