German inflation bounces back in February

Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, was back in positive territory in February with consumer prices rising by 0.1 percent, official data showed on Friday.

The previous month, the consumer price index had fallen for the first time in five years, dropping by 0.4 percent as a result of lower energy prices.

According to the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) -- the yardstick used by the European Central Bank -- inflation in Germany remained in negative territory, slipping by 0.1 percent year-on-year in February, way under the ECB's annual inflation target of just below 2.0 percent.

In January, HICP had fallen by 0.5 percent.

The February data are still only preliminary, since they are based on consumer price statistics from only six out of Germany's 16 regional states.

Final data, based on all 16, will be published on March 12, the German federal statistis office Destatis said.

The data will offer some hope that the eurozone will avoid a dangerous deflationary spiral of falling prices.

Last month, the ECB unveiled a massive trillion-euro bond purchase programme to ward off deflation and end stagnation in the eurozone economy.