German inflation higher again in May

Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, crept higher in May with consumer prices rising by 0.7 percent year-on-year, final data showed on Tuesday.

The index had risen in April by 0.5 percent on a 12-month basis, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) -- the yardstick used by the European Central Bank -- inflation in Germany also rose by 0.7 percent  year-on-year in May, still way under the ECB's annual inflation target of just below two percent.

The final data confirm a preliminary estimate published earlier this month and appear to indicate that the ECB's monetary policy measures are slowly beginning to push up inflation.

In March, the ECB embarked on a massive trillion euro ($1.1 trillion) bond purchase programme to ward off deflation and end stagnation in the eurozone economy.