German Inflation Slows in September

Inflation in Germany, the euro-zone's biggest economy, slowed this month as falling food and tourism prices offset persistently high oil and energy prices, preliminary data showed on Friday. The German consumer price index (CPI) slipped by 0.3 percent in September from the figure for August and was 1.8 percent higher than it had been in September 2003, the federal statistics office said in a statement. The 12-month rate of inflation was therefore slower this month than the 2.0 percent recorded in August. Preliminary pan-German CPI is based on cost-of-living data from six so-called indicator states: Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. Final consumer price inflation, based on statistics from all 16 German states, was scheduled to be released in mid-October.