By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – German inflation fell more than expected in March, pointing to further policy easing by the European Central Bank.
German inflation eased to 2.3%, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed on Monday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a March reading of 2.4%, after a year-on-year increase in consumer prices of 2.6% in February, based on data harmonised to compare with other European Union countries.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell to 2.5% in March from 2.7% in the previous month.
The German data comes ahead of the euro zone inflation release on Tuesday. Inflation in the bloc is expected at 2.3% in March, unchanged from the previous month, according to economists polled by Reuters.
The ECB has cut interest rates six times since last June but has provided few signals about its next move after the most recent reduction of its key deposit rate to 2.5% at its March meeting.
Separate data on Monday showed a rise in import prices, indicating a looming inflation surge and potentially dampening consumer spending.
(Reporting by Rachel More, Maria Martinez and Ludwig Burger, Editing by Friederike Heine)
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