By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa 
 

Consumer prices in Germany increased nearly 2% on an annual average last year, but fell sharply in the final month of 2018, the German Federal Statistical Office said Wednesday.

The consumer price index measured according to EU-harmonized standards, or HICP, for December was confirmed to have risen 0.3% on month and 1.7% on year, with provisional CPI figures verified at 0.1% on month and 1.7% on year.

According to Destatis, a 4.9% rise in energy product prices was the main factor edging consumer price growth up to 1.9% last year from 1.8% in 2017--in both EU-harmonized and national standards.

In addition to energy, food prices also jumped markedly in 2018 with a rise of 2.5%, followed by goods, which recorded a 2.2% price increase, Destatis said.

The inflation data comes as a string of weaker-than-expected economic releases heightened concern about the eurozone's largest economy.

Statistics have shown that Germany recorded its most sluggish annual growth rate since 2013 last year, while industrial production slumped in November for the second straight month, though Destatis said Tuesday that the economy has likely--narrowly--escaped a technical recession.

Write to Fabiana Negrin Ochoa at fabiana.negrinochoa@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 16, 2019 03:26 ET (08:26 GMT)