Inflation in Germany rose slightly in January to 8.7 percent, ending two months of decline fueled by lower energy prices, preliminary official data released today by the federal statistics office Destatis showed.

The measure rose 0.1 percentage point from December, but remains below its peak of 10.4 percent reached in October.

Contrary to custom, Destatis did not provide details on the distribution of the price increase across sectors.

Prices of staple foods will drop very soon

Growth in the harmonized price index, which serves as a benchmark for the European Central Bank, slowed in January to 9.2 percent year-on-year, but remains well above the ECB's medium-term inflation target of 2 percent.

Inflation in the eurozone's biggest economy has stabilized at a high level after prices last year hit levels not seen since the 1950s.

The containment of inflation is thanks to the stabilization of energy prices, after Berlin did what was necessary to secure large-scale supplies of liquefied natural gas.

inflation