German inflation down in December

Inflation in Germany continued to come down from its recent highs in December, but averaged 2.3 percent for the whole of 2011, above European Central Bank targets, official data showed on Thursday. The consumer price index for the eurozone's largest economy rose by 2.1 percent on a 12-month basis in December, down from 2.4 percent in November, the national statistics office Destatis said in a statement. It also marked a substantial slowdown from the three-year high of 2.6 percent seen in September. Taking the whole of 2011, the inflation rate in Europe's biggest economy averaged 2.3 percent, the statisticians calculated on the basis of consumer price data for six key German states. The European Central Bank aims to keep inflation in the 17-nation euro area close to but below 2.0 percent. Using the EU's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or HICP, which is the ECB's inflation yardstick, the cost of living in Germany rose by 2.5 percent on a 12-month basis in December, down from 2.8 percent in November. The preliminary inflation data are calculated using consumer price data for six of Germany's 16 federal states. Final data, based on statistics for all 16 states, are scheduled to be published on January 16.