Euro zone inflation pressures rise but remain subdued

LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation will remain muted in the coming months as inflationary pressures are hovering near August's 44-month low, an indicator designed to predict cyclical trends showed on Friday.

The Eurozone Future Inflation Gauge (EZFIG), published by the Economic Cycle Research Institute, rose to 91.1 in November from October's 90.4.

"Although the EZFIG has increased for three consecutive months, it remains in a cyclical downtrend and close to August's 44-month low. Euro zone inflation pressures are still quite muted," said Lakshman Achuthan, ECRI's chief operations officer.

Preliminary data on Tuesday showed inflation fell in December, increasing the European Central Bank's challenge of avoiding deflation as well as supporting the bloc's recovery.

Consumer price inflation in the 17 countries then sharing the euro stood at 0.8 percent year-on-year in the last month of 2013, compared with 0.9 percent in November.

The ECB targets close-to-but-below 2 percent inflation.

(Reporting by Jonathan Cable Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)