German March CPI falls more than expected

Consumer prices in the euro area's largest economy registered a larger than expected and broad-based decline.

Germany's headline consumer price index retreated to an annualised pace of 1.6% for March from the 2.2% pace observed in February, according to preliminary estimates by the Federal Office of Statistics.

Thursday's meant traders should be ready for an undershoot in the euro area-wide CPI data due the next day (consensus: 1.8%), Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

Economists had anticipated a smaller declined to 1.8%.

Energy price increases slowed from a 7.2% clip in one month to 5.1% in the next, while those for food advanced at a 2.3% pace, which was down from 4.4% in the month before.

Services price inflation declined from 1.3% to 0.7%.

The rate of gains in rents on the other hand was steady at an annualised pace of 1.6%.

In harmonised terms, CPI was expected to rise by 0.1% on the month and by 1.5% over the year, the statistics office said.

Final CPI data for March was scheduled for release on 13 April.

As of 1315 GMT euro/dollar was down by 0.26% to 1.0739.