Official figures show that the annual rate of inflation in Germany hit 2.4% in September, the highest level in two years.
The federal statistics office figures suggested that inflation across the euro zone was likely to exceed the European Central Bank's medium-term ceiling of 2%.
A key factor in the German surge were prices for petroleum products, with the cost of motor fuels leaping by 8.9% in the year. The cost of electricity and food also rose sharply in September from the same month a year earlier.
When volatile elements were excluded from the calculation, inflation came to 2.2%, the statistics office said. On a monthly basis, German consumer prices grew by 0.1%.
Energy prices are set to climb higher, as the biggest German power company, EON, has already announced increases in the cost of gas and electricity on January 1.
Meanwhile, a new poll showed that investor confidence in Germany was stable this month, suggesting that the worst of the international banking crisis may now be over.
The closely-watched economic expectations index published by the ZEW research institute remained at minus 18.1 points, the same level as in September.
