German import prices decrease in June
The Federal Statistics Office said that import prices in Germany, Europe's largest economy, showed a decline in June as Euro gained appreciation against the US Dollar and oil prices fell. Import prices fell by 0.6% in June from May, but were up 2% from June 2003. Additionally, import price index also declined to 97.0 in June from 97.6 recorded in May. German consumer inflation also indicated slowdown last month, easing pressure on the European Central Bank to raise borrowing costs. The Statistics Office said in the report, the decline in import prices was affected by 9.4% monthly drop in iron and steel scrap price and a 13.5% drop in gasoline prices.