Germany Import Price Inflation Eases More Than Forecast

Germany's import price inflation eased at a faster-than-expected pace in May after remaining stable in the prior month, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday.

Import prices climbed 4.1 percent year-over-year in May, slower than the 6.1 percent steady rate of increase in April. Economists had expected the inflation to moderate to 4.6 percent.

The measure has been rising since November last year.

Excluding energy, imports prices grew 3.0 percent in May from a year ago. Energy prices alone surged by 15.7 percent.

On a monthly basis, import prices dropped 1.0 percent from April, when it increased by 0.1 percent. It was forecast to drop by 0.6 percent.

Data also shower that export prices rose at a slower rate of 2.2 percent yearly in May, following a 2.6 percent gain in April. Month-on-month, export prices edged down 0.2 percent, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in the prior month.