Mubasher: Germany’s producer prices grew more than expected in January, driven by sharp rises in electricity sector.

Producer Price Index (PPI) rose markedly by 0.5% last month, compared with a 0.2% increase in December, data by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) showed on Tuesday.

Economists had expected a slighter growth of 0.3% in January.

On an annual basis, the largest European economy’s producer prices climbed 2.1%, down from a 2.3% rise in the same month of the previous year.

These gains, however, were driven by sharp hikes in electricity and energy sectors’ prices, which jumped 4.9% and 2.2%, respectively.

By 09:20 am GMT, the euro slipped 0.39% against the US dollar to $1.2359.