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| - Consumer prices in Germany rose at a faster pace in February, preliminary official data showed Monday, as fears grow that a return of inflation could hamper a post-pandemic economic recovery. Inflation reached 1.3 percent year-on-year, its steepest rise since March 2020, when borders were first slammed shut across the world as countries battled to halt contagion of the coronavirus. Analysts had projected inflation to reach 1.4 percent for the month. Consumer prices were pulled up in February by rising energy prices after months of slumps. A growth in food prices has meanwhile slowed down to 1.4 percent compared to 2.2 percent a month ago, according to the preliminary data from federal statistics agency Destatis. After having slowed considerably in 2020, inflation is expected to rise this year in Europe as the economy picks up following the relaxation of measures to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the European Central Bank poised to hold its regular monetary policy setting meeting next week, voices warning against its ultra expansionary stance are growing louder. Monday's figures do "little to quieten the discussions around potential ECB action," said Carsten Brzeski, ING analyst. A member of a German government advisory panel, Volker Wieland, last week called on the ECB to look at raising interest rates in case of surging inflation. Wieland voiced concerns that inflation could reach 3-4 percent in the "mid-term" in Europe. The ECB's inflation target stands at just under two percent. fcz-hmn/kih/lth
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