German inflation highest since 2012 at 2.2% in February

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Inflation in Germany hit 2.2 percent in February, preliminary data from federal statistics office Destatis showed Wednesday, outstripping the European Central Bank's price stability target.

The price increase reading, the highest since August 2012 in Europe's largest economy, slightly outpaced a 2.1-percent forecast from analysts surveyed by Factset.