BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A sharp fall in the price of fuel and heating oil pulled down consumer prices in the euro zone as expected in February but core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy component, edged higher, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday.
Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.6 percent month-on-month for a 0.3 percent year-on-year fall, less sharp that a 0.6 percent year-on-year decline in January.
The data confirms an earlier Eurostat estimate and is in line with economists forecasts.
Energy prices rose 1.6 percent on the month, but fell 7.9 percent year-on-year in February. Cheaper fuels for transport subtracted 0.64 percentage points from the overall end result ad les expensive heating oil took off another 0.19 points.
Prices of unprocessed food, another volatile component of the consumer price index, rose 0.8 percent on the month to increase 0.4 percent year-on-year -- the first annual rise since a 0.2 percent increase in November.
Without the energy and unprocessed food -- a measure the European Central Bank calls core inflation -- prices rose 0.5 percent month-on-month for a 0.7 percent annual gain, accelerating from the 0.6 percent year-on-year rate in January.
The ECB wants to keep inflation below, but close to 2 percent in annual terms over the medium term and started buying euro zone government bonds this month to inject cash into the economy and make prices rise at a faster pace.
Separately, Eurostat said employment in the euro zone in the final quarter of 2014 rose 0.1 percent against the previous three months and was 0.9 percent higher than in the same period of 2013.