German inflation picks up fractionally: stats office

[FRANKFURT] Inflation in Germany accelerated fractionally in June, buoyed by rising prices in the services sector and shallower declines in energy prices, a preliminary estimate showed on Wednesday.

The federal statistics office, Destatis, calculated that Germany's national inflation yardstick, the consumer price index, rose by 0.3 per cent in June, slightly faster than the 0.1 per cent recorded for Europe's biggest economy in the previous month.

Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - the barometer used by the European Central Bank - the inflation rate edged up to 0.2 per cent in June from 0.1 per cent in May, Destatis said in a statement.

The inflation data were a preliminary flash estimate calculated from consumer price data for six of Germany's 16 regional states.

Final data based on all 16 states will be published on July 12.

AFP