Annual German inflation stood at 1.9 percent in August, according to a European Union harmonised measure (HICP), the Federal Statistics Office said on Tuesday, revising up a preliminary estimate by a tenth of a point.
Economists said the revision to the German data would likely prompt Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, to bump up its preliminary estimate of euro zone inflation in August to 2.2 percent from 2.1 percent.
Ralph Solveen at Commerzbank in Frankfurt said the German figures pointing to slightly faster-than-expected inflation were unlikely to herald a change in the European Central Bank's view of price developments.
"I don't think that this in any way changes the overall picture for the ECB," Solveen said.
"The bank sees that oil prices are playing a role and as long as no second-round effects emerge then it won't change the overall outlook," he added. Eurostat is due to present a final estimate of August inflation for the 12-nation bloc on September 16.
German HICP consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent compared with the previous month in August, more than the 0.1 percent gain originally reported on August 25, the Office said. That led to an upward revision of the annual rate from 1.8 percent.
According to Germany's national gauge (CPI), prices advanced 1.9 percent on the year, after a 2.0 percent rise in July, and by 0.1 percent on the month, the office added, confirming preliminary figures.
"Energy prices are still pushing inflation and otherwise price pressures are relatively weak," Solveen said.
Excluding heating oil and fuels, the CPI advanced by 1.3 percent in August from the previous year, the same rate as July, the Office said.