Greece's consumer price index flat in December

Greece's annual headline consumer price index was unchanged at zero percent in December year-on-year, with the annual pace of deflation slowing sharply from -0.9 percent in November, statistics service data showed on Wednesday.

The data also showed the European Union-harmonized inflation rate turned positive in December at 0.3 percent from -0.2 percent in November.

Consumer prices were led higher by alcoholic beverages, tobacco, housing, hotels and transportation costs.

For years an inflation outlier in the eurozone, Greece has been in a protracted deflation mode since March 2013 based on its headline index, as wage and pension cuts and a multi-year recession took a heavy toll on Greek household incomes.

Deflation in Greece, which signed up to its first international bailout in 2010, hit its highest level in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2...