According to the preliminary inflation report published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) today, the inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to be 1.6 percent y-o-y in February 2019 compared to 1.4 percent y-o-y in January. 

Economists had forecast a 1.5 percent inflation.

Prices of energy (+2.9 percent y-o-y vs. 2.3 percent y-o-y in January) and food (+1.5 percent y-o-y vs. 0.8 percent y-o-y in January) are set to rise at a faster pace while services inflation should remain unchanged.

The report also revealed that consumer prices are expected to increase by 0.5 percent m-o-m. That was in line with economists' expectations.

Meanwhile, inflation based on the harmonized index of consumer prices, which is calculated for European purposes, was steady at 1.7 percent y-o-y, matching economists' forecast.

Compared to the previous month, the HICP rose 0.5 percent in February, also in line with economists estimates.