German producer prices fall more than expected in February

German producer prices fell more than expected in February, according to the latest data from Destatis.

Producer prices dropped 0.5% from January, which was steeper than the 0.2% decline pencilled in by economists, as energy prices slid 9.4% on the month.

On the year, producer prices were down 3%, missing expectations for a 2.6% drop.

Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said: “With the price of goods continuing to decline, German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble will be concerned about what implications this will have on inflation within his European powerhouse.

“As Europe’s largest and strongest economy, Germany carries the can for much of the Eurozone, so this less-than-impressive data could have a knock-on effect that will send reverberations across the continent.