The rate of inflation in the eurozone remained at 0.5% in June, marking the ninth consecutive month of below-target growth in the 18 member states.
Earlier this month the European Central Bank (ECB) introduced fresh measures designed to boost the eurozone, including a "below-zero" interest rate and cheap, long-term bank loans.
ECB president Mario Draghi has referred to inflation below 1% as being in "the danger zone".
The bank wants inflation to be near 2%.
Flash estimates from the EU statistics office, Eurostat, show that the service industry was the only sector to report significant price growth, with a rise of 1.3%, but food, alcohol & tobacco prices were down 0.2%, and industrial goods remained unchanged.
Separate figures from the eurozone showed that retail sales in Greece enjoyed their strongest annual rise in more than two years in April, up 7.3% compared with the year before.
In Germany, retail sales in May were up 1.9% compared with the year before, but down 0.6% compared with April's figures.
Earlier this month, the ECB became the first major central bank to introduce negative interest rates, in an effort to to get money moving into the stagnant eurozone economy.
There had been concerns that the eurozone could slip into deflation, raising fears that consumers might spend even less because they would expect prices to fall in future months.
Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global, said there may be "some relief" within the ECB that eurozone inflation did not weaken further in June.
"Nevertheless, the ECB will likely have been hoping that inflation would actually edge a little higher in June following a marked move back up in German inflation," he added.
Vocabulary
remained /rɪˈmeɪnd/ - оставаться в каком-то состоянии
consecutive /kənˈsɛkjʊtɪv/ - следующий друг за другом, последующий
below-target /bɪˈləʊ ˈtɑːgɪt/ - далее обозначенный, ниже обозначенный
Ann: Hello Roger? This is Ann. - Алло, Роджер. Это Анна.
Roger: Oh hi, Ann. How have you been? And how’s your new apartment working out? - О, привет, Анна. Как дела? Как твоя новая квартира?
Ann: Well, that’s what I’m calling about. You see, I’ve decided to look for a new place. - Именно по этому поводу я и звоню. Видишь ли, я решила найти новое место.
Roger: Oh, what’s the problem with your place now? I thought you liked the apartment. - Что случилось с твоей квартирой? Я думал, тебе нравится квартира.
Ann: Oh, I do, but it’s a little far from campus, and the commute is just killing me. Do you think you could help? I thought you might know more about the housing situation near the school. - Нравится, но она далека от кампуса, а дорога просто меня убивает. Не мог бы ты помочь? Я подумала, что ты лучше владеешь ситуацией по квартирам возле школы.
Roger: Okay, what’s your budget like? I mean how much do you want to spend on rent? - Хорошо, каков твой бюджет? Я имею в виду, сколько ты готова платить за аренду?
Ann: Uh, somewhere under $200 a month, including utilities, if I could. Oh, and I’d prefer to rent a furnished apartment. - Ну, где-то до 200 долларов в месяц вместе с коммунальными удобствами. Я бы предпочла снять меблированную квартиру.
Roger: Hmm. And anything else? - Хм. Еще что-нибудь?
Ann: Yeah, I need a parking space. - Да, мне нужна парковка.
Roger: Well, I know there’s an apartment complex around the corner that seems to have a few vacancies. I’ll drop by there on my way to class today. - Хорошо, я знаю тут за углом многоквартирный дом, в котором, кажется, есть свободные квартиры. Я загляну туда по дороге на учебу сегодня.
Ann: Hey, thanks a lot. - Окей, большое спасибо.
Roger: No problem. - Нет проблем.
Roger:
ВАРИАЦИИ НА ТЕМУ /MANY AND VARIOUS/
be
be in for it - to get into the problems (влипнуть)
be well off - to have enough of everything( быть обеспеченным)
be too much for somebody - something that a person can’t do by himself( оказаться не по силам)
ТАЙНЫЙ СМЫСЛ /OBSCURE MEANING/
VP: Vice President Вице-президент
WA: Namibia Намибия
WC: WC Уборная
WHO: World Health Organization Всемирная организация здравоохранения (ВОЗ)
2014. Все права защищены. Applied Scholastics и знак
Applied Scholastics являются торговыми марками и знаками обслуживания,
принадлежащими ABLE Int., используются только с ее разрешения.
Образовательные материалы и услуги,
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