German economy begins new year with higher inflation

The annual inflation rate in Germany came in at 8.7% in January, up from 8.1% in December, official figures showed on Wednesday.

According to provisional figures by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany's energy and food prices were main drivers of rise in inflation, with 23.1% and 20.2% hikes, respectively, in January.

The country's inflation rate excluding energy and food prices was at 5.6% in January.

On a monthly basis, Germany's inflation stood at 1% in January.