German inflation turns negative in April, weaker than expected

BERLIN: German annual inflation turned negative again in April, preliminary data showed on Thursday, suggesting that price pressures in Europe's largest economy remain weak, despite the European Central Bank's ultra-loose monetary policy.

German prices, harmonised to compare with other European countries (HICP), fell by 0.1 percent on the year after inching up by 0.1 percent in March, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The April reading came in weaker than expected. The Reuters consensus forecast for annual consumer prices was to remain unchanged.

A breakdown of non-harmonised inflation data showed that energy remained the main drag on the headline figure while the costs for food, services and rents increased at a slower pace than in the previous month.