German consumer price index above forecast in February

German preliminary consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose 0.1% year-on-year in February, compared with expectations of a 0.3% contraction and after a 0.4% decline in January.

The harmonised year-on-year CPI for Germany edged higher to -0.1% in February, while analysts had expected it to remain stable at 0.5%.

Month-on-month CPI rose 0.9% in February, against forecast of a 0.6% and up from the 1.1% drop in January, while the harmonised month-on-month CPI rose 1% against expectations of a 0.7% increase and following a 1.3% drop in January.

"While we expect core inflation to continue to slow over the next few months, headline inflation is likely to have seen its trough in January," said Evelyn Herrmann, European economist at BNP Paribas.