German inflation eases in May

German annual inflation slowed further in May, remaining well below the European Central Bank's target, preliminary data showed on Thursday, providing further justification for stimulus. German consumer prices, harmonized to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries, rose by 0.5% year-on-year, compared with 0.8% in the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The reading was in line with a Reuters forecast for 0.5%. On the month, EU-harmonised prices were unchanged in May. A Reuters poll had predicted a fall of 0.1%.

The ECB has a target of keeping inflation close to but below 2% for the currency bloc.