© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk down the main shopping street Hohe Strasse one day before Germany goes back to a complete lockdown due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Cologne, Germany, December 15, 2020. Picture taken December 15, 2020. REUTER
BERLIN (Reuters) – German inflation rose in December due to base effects, putting a temporary halt on the downward trend seen in the last months.
Inflation, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose in December to 3.8%, the federal statistics office said on Thursday, in line with the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.
German consumer prices had risen by 2.3% year-on-year in November.
Economists pay close attention to German inflation data, as Germany usually publishes its figures one day before the euro zone inflation data release.
Euro zone inflation is expected to rise to 3.0% in December from 2.4% in November, according to economists polled by Reuters.
In December, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde flagged upside inflation risks to push back on imminent rate cuts.
The rise in German inflation is due to base effects stemming from last December’s energy relief measures for gas and district heating, the statistics office said.
This story originally appeared on Investing
