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By Xavier Fontdegloria
Germany’s annual inflation rate edged up slightly in January after two consecutive months of easing, preliminary data from the country’s statistics office Destatis showed Thursday.
Consumer prices rose 8.7% in January compared with the same month a year earlier measured by national standards, up from an 8.6% increase in December.
January marks the first increase in the annual inflation rate since October, when price growth hit 10.4%, its highest level in 70 years.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected inflation to rise to a higher 9.4% in January.
Consumer prices increased 9.2% on year by European Union harmonized standards, easing from 9.6% in December, Destatis said.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
