Consumer price inflation in several German regions, including Brandenburg, Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony, moved lower in February, according to preliminary out on Thursday morning.

That means that Friday’s reading on the Eurozone’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for that same month is likely to show a drop to a 0.6% year-on-year clip (consensus: 0.7%), from a reading of 0.8% for January.

In turn, that may heighten a little bit the pressure on the European Central Bank to adopt further stimulus measures, which may weigh on the single currency in foreign exchange markets.

Germany’s harmonised CPI is now expected to show a year-on-year pace of price rises of 1.1%, down from 1.3% in January.

The CPI for the region of Bavaria slipped to 0.9% year-on-year in February (from 1.1%), in Brandenburg to 1.2% (from 1.5%), in Hesse to 1.0% (from 1.2%) and in Saxony to 1.2% (from 1.4%).

AB