German inflation surpassed the target set by the European Central Bank for the euro zone in June, the second month in a row it has done so, lending support to the ECB's decision to close its bond purchase scheme at the end of the year.
Data published by the Federal Statistics Office on Thursday showed that EU-harmonised German consumer prices rose 2.1 percent year-on-year. The same measure had increased by 2.2 percent in May. The yearly figure matched a Reuters forecast. A breakdown of the non-harmonised figures showed that higher costs for food, energy and goods had propelled the rise in June.
On the month, EU-harmonised prices were up 0.1 percent, the preliminary numbers showed. That was less than the Reuters consensus forecast for an increase of 0.2 percent.
"Regardless of how inflation develops, the path of the ECB has been marked," Thomas Gitzel of VP Bank Group wrote in a note.
With inflation firming in the euro zone, the ECB said earlier this month it would end its crisis-era bond buying programme - originally designed to ward off deflation and stimulate the economy. But it signalled that any interest rate rise remains distant.
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