MARCH PRICES FELL IN GERMAN STATE ON YEAR-AGO

  The cost of living in North
  Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, fell 0.1 pct
  in the month to mid-March to stand 0.5 pct lower than at the
  same time a year earlier, the regional statistics office said.
      Prices had risen 0.3 pct in the month to mid-February but
  had fallen 0.7 pct year-on-year.
      The regional figures are considered a good guide to
  national inflation trends. The Federal Statistics Office is due
  to publish provisional national figures for March by the end of
  this month.
  

