German inflation turns negative for first time in five years
Berlin (dpa) - German inflation fell below zero for the first time in more than five years in January in the wake of plummeting energy costs, according to data released on Thursday.
Annual consumer prices in Europe's biggest economy slumped to alower-than-forecast minus 0.3 per cent this month after rising 0.2 per cent in December, the statistics office (Destatis) said in preliminary figures.
Analysts surveyed by dpa-AFX had forecast a drop to minus 0.1 per cent in January. The cost of living in Germany now stands at its lowest level since September 2009.
The data sets the stage for the release on Friday of inflation data for the 19-member eurozone, which analysts expect will show annual consumer prices sliding deeper into negative territory. The European Central Bank last week unveiled a 60-billion-euro-a-month (68-billion-dollar-a-month) stimulus plan aimed at hauling the eurozone back from deflation and driving consumer prices back up toward the ECB annual inflation target of just below 2 per cent.
