Preliminary results showed that although price increase rates for December were down to 2.1 percent from a high of 2.4 percent in November, the average for the year was 2.3 percent, according to the national statistics office Destatis.
Although this was above the European Central Bank aim which is to keep inflation at close to but below 2.0 percent in the 17 eurozone countries, it was still lower than the three-year high of 2.6 percent seen in September.
Statisticians calculated the inflation data on the basis of consumer price data for six key German states.
Using the EU’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or HICP, the cost of living in Germany rose by 2.5 percent on a 12-month basis in December, down from 2.8 percent in November. The HIPC is the ECB’s inflation yardstick calculated slightly differently from the preliminary national figures, thus giving different figures.
Final data, based on statistics for all 16 states, are scheduled to be published on January 16.
DAPD/AFP/The Local/hc
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