Turning Japanese? Draghi denies eurozone facing deflationary spiral

Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), has said the country is not facing a Japanese-style deflationary spiral despite recent data showing inflation is sliding.

Draghi - speaking after the ECB opted to maintain ultra-low interest rates but held back from introducing any form of QE - said the ECB's governing council had discussed "all the possible instruments" to cope with the threat of falling prices. However, he said they would only be used if the situation deteriorates, despite the fact inflation is already expected to be unusually low in the near future. "By and large, we do not see a deflation in the Japanese sense of the ‘90s," Draghi said. "We also ask ourselves ‘Are we close to Japan?' and the answer we gave ourselves is ‘No we are ...