FRANKFURT: Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, slowed noticeably in June with consumer prices rising by just 0.3 percent year-on-year, preliminary data showed on Monday.

In May, the index had risen by 0.7 percent on a 12-month basis, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

The reason for the slowdown was a sharp decline in energy prices, the data showed.

Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) -- the yardstick used by the European Central Bank -- inflation in Germany rose by just 0.1 percent year-on-year in June, down from 0.7 percent in May and a long way below the ECB's annual inflation target of just below two percent.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015