By Maria Martinez

German consumer prices rose strongly in November, beating forecasts and posting its highest reading since the summer of 1992, according to preliminary data released by the German statistics office Destatis on Monday.

Consumer prices rose 5.2% on year measured by national standards, above the forecast of 5.1% of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. They rose 6.0% on year by European Union-harmonized standards, above the forecast of 5.6%.

The increase in the inflation rate was caused mainly by base effects due to lower prices in 2020, the statistics office said. In this context, the temporary value-added-tax reduction and the sharp decline in mineral-oil-product prices also had an upward effect on the overall inflation rate, Destatis said.

Additional factors included the introduction of carbon-dioxide pricing in January and pandemic-related effects, such as marked price increases during the stage of economic recovery, the statistics office said.

Consumer prices declined 0.2% on month by national standards, falling less than the 0.3% drop forecast by economists polled by the WSJ. Prices increased by 0.3% by EU-harmonized standards, more than the 0.0% forecast by economists polled by the WSJ.

Final results will be released on Dec. 10.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-29-21 0829ET