In a report, the German Federal Statistics Bureau said consumer price inflation accelerated at an annualized rate of 1.5% in May, above expectations for a 1.3% increase.
Consumer prices rose by 1.2% in April.
Month-over-month, German consumer prices rose 0.4% in May, compared to forecasts for a 0.2% gain, after falling by 0.5% in the preceding month.
Following the release of the data, the euro was higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.73% to trade at 1.2948.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to sharp losses. Germany's DAX tumbled 1.6%, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 1.5%, while London’s FTSE 100 tumbled 1.6%.