Germany's annual inflation rate in January climbed to 1.6 percent, only partly due to the value-added tax increases, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday.

However, the Wiesbaden-based office reported that compared with December 2006, the index was down 0.2 percent. In December last year, the inflation is 1.4 percent.

"The 0.2 percentage point rise in the rate of price increase from December 2006 to January 2007 was only partly due to the tax increases (value-added and insurance taxes) which came into effect on 1 January 2007," the report said.

The tax rises had "nearly no visible effects" on the total result for the month of January 2007. "The price climate was rather characterized by declining prices of mineral oil products and downward seasonal effects," it added.

Compared with a year earlier, the prices of domestic fuel and motor fuels fell 9.2 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.

However, the prices of other household energy continued to climb considerably on the previous year with gas prices up 9.3 percent in January on a year earlier.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages were up an average 2.6 percent year-on-year, the office said.

Source: Xinhua