2020.02.1306:59:00UTC+00Germany January Inflation Confirmed At 6-month High

Germany's consumer price inflation hit a six-month high at the start of the year, driven by a jump in energy prices, final figures from Destatis showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index rose 1.7 percent year-on-year following a 1.5 percent increase in December. The flash estimates of all inflation figures for January were confirmed. The latest inflation rate was the highest since July, when it was at 1.7 percent.

Food price inflation accelerated to 2.3 percent from 2.1 percent. Energy prices jumped 3.4 percent after falling in the previous four months.

Prices for motor fuels surged 5.2 percent and those of electricity grew 3.9 percent. Meat prices were higher by 6.2 percent and fruit prices rose 6.0 percent.

Excluding energy prices, the rate of inflation was 1.5 percent in January. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI declined 0.6 percent in January. The decline was mainly due to seasonal price decreases of 28.7 percent for package holidays, 6.3 percent for clothing and 4 percent for footwear. There has been a lower value added tax rate for long-distance rail tickets since January 1, 2020, which reduced the prices of long-distance train journeys by 10 percent, Destatis said.

The harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose 1.6 percent year-on-year after a 1.5 percent increase in the previous month. The HICP inflation was the highest since April, when it was 2.1 percent.

The EU measure of inflation decreased 0.8 percent from the previous month.