Eurozone inflation falls sharply below target

The 19-country eurozone's inflation fell sharply to 1.5 percent in March, lower than the European Central Bank's (ECB) target of 2.0 percent, data from the European Union's statistics office showed Friday.

The lower-than-expected inflation rate is largely a result of a slower rise in oil prices, the agency said.

Energy prices jumped 7.3 percent year-on-year in March after a 9.3 percent increase in February and unprocessed food was 5.3 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

The core inflation, which excludes the volatile prices of energy and unprocessed food, dropped to 0.7 percent in March from 0.9 percent in February, and the latest figure is expected to reinforce the ECB's determination to continue with its stimulus measures.