German inflation turns negative in Jan for first time since 2009

[BERLIN] Annual inflation in Europe's largest economy turned negative in January for the first time since October 2009, preliminary data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office showed on Thursday.

Consumer prices harmonised to compare with other European countries dropped by 0.5 per cent on the year in January after rising by 0.1 per cent in December.

That compared with the Reuters forecast for a 0.2 per cent drop and the European Central Bank's target for close to but just under 2 per cent over the medium term in the eurozone.

Final consumer price data for January is due to be released on Feb 12, the statistics office said.

REUTERS