North-Rhine Westphalia CPI
January: -0.5% m/m, +2.0% y/y
December: +1.1% m/m, +1.8% y/y
—
Pan-German CPI
MNI median forecast: -0.4% m/m, +2.0% y/y
MNI forecast range: -0.6% to -0.2% m/m
December: +1.0% m/m, +1.7% y/y
—
BERLIN (MNI) – Consumer prices in the western German state of
North-Rhine Westphalia fell 0.5% in January, lifting the annual
inflation rate to +2.0% from +1.8% in December, the state statistics
office said Thursday.
The monthly result was below the -0.4% median forecast for
pan-German CPI in an MNI survey of analysts. Monthly results for Saxony,
Brandenburg and Hesse also showed a 0.5% monthly decline in consumer
prices.
Downward pressure on monthly consumer price developments in NRW
came from leisure and culture prices, which, due to the 16.3% fall in
package holiday prices, fell 4.5% between December and January.
Annual price developments were driven mainly by energy. Excluding
the impacts of heating oil and motor fuel prices, core CPI was down 0.6%
on the month and up 1.3% on the year.
Analysts expect that the remaining spare capacity in the economy
will keep underlying price pressures down.
The German government last week forecast average inflation of 1.8%
this year, with core inflation projected at 1.3%. It also expects no
strong increase of inflation over the coming years, Economics Minister
Rainer Bruederle said.
Bundesbank President Axel Weber said last week that “over the
medium term, inflation rates (HICP) under 2% are still to be expected in
the Eurozone, just as in Germany.”
While he argued that inflationary risks are still balanced, Weber
still cautioned that “upward risks could increase.”
For detailed information see data table on MNI MainWire.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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