Germany confirms 2-year low in inflation rate

German annual inflation rate was confirmed to have eased to 1.4 percent since March 2012, reaching the lowest since December 2010, official data showed on Thursday. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) thus confirmed its provisional calculation result released last Tuesday. The Wiesbaden-based office said in a statement that the two-year-low annual rate of inflation was mainly contributed by falling prices of mineral oil products, among which, motor fuels prices decreased by 6.5 percent, heating oil was down by 6.2 percent. The inflation rate continued a downward trend since beginning of this year. The rate was 1.7 percent in January and 1.5 percent in February, while rose by 0.5 percent in March month on month. When measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), which was used for the purpose of comparing with other European Union countries, German inflation rate in March was 1.8 percent, below the European Central Bank's medium term inflation maintenance target of 2.0 percent. Stable prices and labor market make Germans optimistic about their financial situation. German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) predicted that German gross domestic products would grow by 0.7 percent in 2013, and by 1.6 percent next year. "Disposable incomes grow significantly and the job market remains stable, these strengthen consumer spending which would support growth," said the Berlin-based think tank in a statement on Wednesday.