CORRECTS - Germany's monthly inflation more than expected in December

CHANGING DECK PLUS PARAGRAPHS 4, 5, AND 6

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Monthly inflation in Germany was at 0.5% in December, slightly more than preliminary data of 0.4%, according to official data released by Destatis on Thursday.

This increase was due to seasonal factors such as prices for travel, including package holidays, which jumped 9.2% in December.

In addition, rail prices for journeys rose in December as part of the annual price adjustment, with prices for long-distance transport and local transport up 4.2% and 3% respectively.

Annually, consumer prices climbed 2.6% in December compared to the same month in 2023, which confirmed the preliminary results published on Jan. 7

Consumer price inflation in 2024 on average was significantly lower with 2.2% than in the three years previous. The annual inflation average in 2023 was 5.9%, with 6.9% in 2022 and 3.1% in 2021.

Rising prices for insurance, social institutions, restaurant services, and vehicle maintenance and repair also contributed to the trend, up 13.2%, 7.8%, 6.8% and 6.1% on average in 2024, respectively.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, was at 3.0% in 2024 after a 5.1% rise in 2023 and a 3.8% increase in 2022.