Inflation in Germany slumped to its lowest level since October 2009 in December following a plunge in oil prices, preliminary data released on Monday showed.
Consumer prices in Europe's biggest economy slowed to a lower-than-forecast 0.2 per cent, compared with 0.6 per cent in November, dpa quoted the statistics office (Destatis) as saying.
Analysts had expected the monthly inflation rate to fall to 0.3 per cent.
The latest drop in inflation came after energy costs tumbled deeper into negative territory, with oil prices plummeting by nearly 50 per cent since the middle of the year.
German inflation now stands at its lowest level since October 2009, when it hit zero.
Annual consumer prices stood at 0.9 per cent for the whole of 2014.