BERLIN — German annual inflation slowed in October and remained below the European Central Bank's target, data showed on Monday, lending support to the bank's decision to withdraw monetary stimulus only slowly. Consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European countries (HICP), increased by 1.5 percent on the year after a rise of 1.8 percent in September, the Federal Statistics Office said. On the month, prices fell by 0.1 percent. A Reuters poll had pointed to an increase of 1.7 percent on the year and a rise of 0.1 percent on the month. Advertisement Continue reading the main story"Considering the strong expansion (in the euro zone) an ultra-expansive monetary policy is no longer justifiable," VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel wrote in a note.

Source: New York Times October 30, 2017 13:33 UTC