Investing.com - German inflation rose at a faster pace than expected this month, topping the European Central Bank's target level, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The consumer price index rose 2.2% in May, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office.
Economists had expected annual inflation to increase 2.0% after rising 1.6% in April.
Consumer prices, harmonized to compare with other euro zone countries, rose by 2.2% from the previous year, above forecasts for a reading of 1.8% and compared to a gain of 1.4% in the previous month.
The rise was mainly driven by higher energy, food and transport prices.
The data pointed to robust consumer demand, feeding into a debate about when the European Central Bank should curb its monetary stimulus.
Policy hawks at the ECB want the bank to end its asset purchases this year and see room for a rate hike towards the middle of 2019.
But investors have dropped long-standing bets that the ECB would hike rates in June 2019 amid signs of weaker economic growth in the euro zone and market turmoil associated with a political crisis in Italy.