German inflation bounces back in February: data

[FRANKFURT] Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, was back in positive territory in February with consumer prices rising by 0.1 per cent, official data showed on Thursday.

The data, released by federal statistics office Destatis, confirmed a preliminary estimate published at the end of February.

The previous month, the consumer price index had fallen for the first time in five years, dropping by 0.4 per cent as a result of lower energy prices.

According to the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - the yardstick used by the European Central Bank - inflation in Germany remained in negative territory, slipping by 0.1 per cent year-on-year in February, Destatis said.

That is way under the ECB's annual inflation target of just below 2.0 per cent.

In January, HICP had fallen by 0.5 per cent.

The data will offer some hope that the eurozone will avoid a dangerous deflationary spiral of falling prices.

Earlier this week, the ECB started buying bonds as part of a massive 1.14-trillion-euro purchase programme to raise inflation and end stagnation in the eurozone economy.

AFP