--Germany's Bavaria Jan CPI up 0.5% vs Dec; up 2.3% on yr
By BridgeNews
Frankfurt--Jan. 24--Consumer prices in the western German state of Bavaria rose 0.5% in January from December and were up 2.3% on the year, the state's statistics office in Munich said Wednesday. The data comes above forecasts, with prices for seasonal goods, electricity and other services posting the highest monthly rises. A BridgeNews survey of economists forecast January German provisional CPI as up 0.3% on the month and up 2.2% on the year.
* * * Consumer prices were expected to have risen in January, mainly on the back of the third stage of the ecology tax coming into effect on Jan. 1, which meant that fuels became 0.06 Deutsche marks more expensive per liter and the price of electricity rose by 0.05 marks per Kwh.
So, costs of transportation rose in Bavaria 0.8% on the month, with electricity prices posting a 2.0% monthly rise. Hiked radio/TV license fees as well as insurance premia were likely behind the 1.5% rise in the services' sub-index of CPI. Seasonal goods prices posted a 3.7% rise on the month.
Wednesday's data follow last month's unchanged monthly rate and 2.1% annual rise after a 0.3% monthly gain and annual increase of 2.5% in November.