German inflation posts surprise drop to 2% in August
Women with KaDeWe carrier bags walk past the entrance to the Kaufhaus des Westens department store.
Jörg Carstensen | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
The harmonized German consumer price index eased to 2% in August, coming in lower than analysts had expected, preliminary data from the German statistics office Destatis said Thursday.
A Reuters poll had forecast the CPI would come in at 2.3%. In July, the harmonized CPI figure was 2.6% on an annual basis.
On a monthly basis, harmonized CPI dipped by 0.2%.
Inflation readings are harmonized in the euro area and in the European Union to ensure comparability.
Core inflation, which strips out energy and food costs, came in at 2.8% compared with the same period of last year, slightly lower than the 2.9% of July. Destatis data showed a 5.1% annual drop in energy costs in August.
Several major German states had reported easing inflation earlier in the day on Thursday. The data comes a day before euro area inflation figures are due to be released.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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