Summary: 5 Jan 2010

• Eurozone inflation at 2.2%; price pressures are expected to remain subdued with fiscal austerity measures; ECB would not raise rates with banking systems in debt crisis
  
• Oil price nears $100; oil prices at such high levels threaten economies' recovery; OPEC is faced with pressure to increase their oil output; ratio of oil import bills to GDP is close to the levels seen during the financial crisis