German consumer prices gained a meagre 0.1% in June from the same month a year earlier, provisional figures released today by the national statistics office showed.
The result was in line with a forecast of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires for Europe's biggest economy.
On a monthly basis, inflation came in at 0.4%, higher than the analyst's forecast for no change. That was mainly the result of marked increases in the cost of heating oil and motor fuels, the Destatis office said. Final figures will be released on July 9.
Germany, and the 16-nation euro zone in general, is flirting with deflation, a generalised decrease in prices that can undermine investment, production and jobs.
The European Central Bank does not consider such a possibility to be a medium or long-term threat however.
