Berlin, July 31 (DPA) Inflation in the 16-member eurozone tumbled deeper into negative territory in July, data released Friday showed, presenting the European Central Bank (ECB) with a fresh challenge as it attempts to spur growth in the currency bloc's economy.

The European Commission's statistics office Eurostat's preliminary figures showed consumer prices fell more than forecast from minus 0.1 percent in June to minus 0.6 percent this month. Economists had forecast a drop to minus 0.4 percent in July.

The fall in inflation comes in the wake of this year's dramatic slowdown in global economic demand and on the back of weaker energy and food prices.

But dwindling consumer prices have also helped to stoke fears about the threat of deflation, which in turn could undercut hopes of an early rebound in the eurozone economy from what has been its deepest downturn in more than 60 years.

The eurozone economy shrank by 4.8 percent year-on-year during the first three months of the year.

However, ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet has insisted that the negative inflation in the eurozone was likely to be short-lived, telling an ECB press conference this month that the latest consumer price data reflected only temporary effects.

Ahead of the release of the eurozone inflation data, the German statistics office said annual inflation in Europe's biggest economy slipped to minus 0.6 percent from zero in June. The decline was bigger than the minus 0.4 percent forecast by economists.

Friday's publication of the latest eurozone inflation data comes in the build-up to next week's meeting of the ECB's 22-head rate-setting council.