Germany's annual inflation eases to 7-month low in March

ANKARA

Germany’s annual consumer inflation dipped to a seven-month low in March, thanks to a significant decline in energy prices, according to provisional data released on Thursday.

Consumer prices were up 7.4% year-on-year in March, the slowest pace of gain since last August, data from the German statistical office Destatis showed.

The market forecast was 7.3% after an 8.7% annual rise in both February and January.

Energy price inflation slowed significantly to 3.5% in March, compared to 19.1% in February.

On the other hand, food inflation accelerated to 22.3% from 21.8% the previous month.

On a monthly basis, Germany’s consumer prices index is expected to increase by 0.8% in March.