German inflation subdued in December

[January 03, 2020]  BERLIN (Reuters) - German annual inflation remained subdued in December, data showed on Friday, highlighting the challenge faced by European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde in maintaining price stability in the euro zone.

German consumer prices, harmonized to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries, rose by 1.5% year-on-year after posting a 1.2% increase in the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office said.

Despite the acceleration, inflation remained below the European Central Bank's target level of close to but below 2% for the eighth month in a row.

The reading was higher than a Reuters forecast for 1.4%.

On the month, EU-harmonized prices rose by 0.6% in December. Analysts had expected a reading of 0.5%.

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Thomas Escritt)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.