German inflation continues to fall due to oil prices drop

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BERLIN, Dec. 17 (Chinese media) -- Germany's inflation rate fell to 1.4 percent in November 2008, continuing its falling trend, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Wednesday.

In August, September and October, Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 3.1 percent, 2.9 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.

For the first time since June 2007, CPI dropped below the 2-percent mark.

The strong decline of the inflation rate in November was mainly attributed to the falling prices of crude oil in the world market, Destatis said.

Although energy prices in November 2008 rose by an average 1.4 percent over the same month last year, liquid fuel prices were down by 2.6 percent and motor fuel prices declined by 13.1 percent.

If mineral oil products were not considered, the inflation rate in November would have reached 2.0 percent, Destatis said.

The harmonized consumer price index (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated to compare inflation rates across the European Union, rose 1.4 percent in November 2008 on the same month in 2007. It was down 0.6 percent on the previous month.