German Consumer Prices Rise Faster Than Expected in July

German consumer prices rose faster than expected in July, possibly adding to expectations that the European Central Bank will announce a start to tapering at its next policy meeting in September.

Consumer prices, calculated according to European Union harmonized standards, or HICP, rose by 0.4% on the month in July and 1.5% on the year, statistics office Destatis said Friday.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast HICP at 0.3% on the month and 1.4% on the year for July.

In June, HICP rose by 0.2% on the month and 1.5% on the year.

Germany is part of the 19-country eurozone for which the ECB sets monetary policy.

-Write to Emese Bartha at emese.bartha@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2017 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT)