German inflation confirmed easing in March
German inflation continued to soften last month due to falling energy costs, with consumer prices rising by 7.4% on an annual basis, but lower than the 8.7% rate recorded in the first two months of the year, according to official final data released on Thursday.
Prices of energy products increased 3.5% on year, a sharp decline from the 19.1% rise seen in February. Food prices continued to place pressure on consumers, rising 22.3% on an annualised basis and up from the 21.8% recorded in February.
"Households felt especially the impact of yet another rise in food prices in March. The rate of inflation has slowed but remains at a high level," said Ruth Brand, head of the Destatis statistics agency.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose slightly to 5.8% from 5.7% in February.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com