20.03.201903:50:00UTC+00German Producer Price Inflation Stable In February

Germany's producer price inflation was unchanged in February, defying expectations for an acceleration, after slowing in the previous two months, preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.

The producer price index rose 2.6 percent year-on-year, same as in January. Economists had expected a higher rate of 2.9 percent.

Producer price inflation was last lower than the current rate in May 2018, when it was 2.5 percent.

Among the main industrial groups, energy prices rose 7.5 percent after a 0.2 percent slump in January. Prices of durable consumer goods and those of capital goods climbed 1.6 percent each.

Producer prices of intermediate goods were 1.1 percent higher, after a modest 0.1 percent fall at the start of the year. Prices of non-durable consumer goods grew 0.8 percent.

Excluding energy, producer prices rose 1.3 percent year-on-year and edged up 0.1 percent from the previous month.

On a month-on-month basis, producer prices decreased 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in January. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent rise.