Germany flash HICP growth remains slower than expected at 2.9% in August

Preliminary Germany Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data for August arrives at 2.9% Year-on-Year (YoY), lower than estimates of 3.1%, but higher than the previous reading of 2.8%. On a monthly basis, inflation data grew by 0.2%, slower than 0.3% estimates and the prior release of 0.9%.

Earlier in the day, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from all six states of Germany came in higher than July readings.

Market reaction

No major reaction is seen in the Euro (EUR) following the German inflation data release. At press time, EUR/USD trades 0.15% higher to near 1.1595.

Economic IndicatorHarmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY)

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), released by the German statistics office Destatis on a monthly basis, is an index of inflation based on a statistical methodology that has been harmonized across all European Union (EU) member states to facilitate comparisons. The YoY reading compares prices in the reference month to a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is bullish for the Euro (EUR), while a low reading is bearish.