Consumer prices in Germany rose one percent in the year to April while wholesale prices surged by six percent, mostly due to higher oil costs, the Federal Statistical Office said on Tuesday.
The annual increase in consumer prices was down from the 1.1 percent rise registered in March.
April's inflation consisted mainly of an uptick in energy prices, particularly mineral oil products, said the agency based in Wiesbaden. The inflation rate would have been only 0.3 percent if the rise in oil products prices were excluded, it said.
Still, inflation "clearly remains under the threshold of two percent which is important for monetary policy," the agency said.
Wholesale prices, on the other hand, posted the strongest monthly surge since August 2008, rising by six percent on a year-on-year basis.
Compared with March 2010, the index of wholesale prices was 1.7 percentage points higher, the agency said.
The increase in wholesale prices was also mainly due to the rising cost of solid fuels and mineral oil products, which were up 21.4 percent compared with April 2009, the agency said.
Mineral oil products are traded in U.S. dollars, so they have been rising for Germany and other euro zone countries as the euro has weakened.
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