German inflation picks up in May INFLATION in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, picked up in May from the two-and-a-half year low it had reached the previous month, official data shows. The cost of living in Germany increased by 1.5 per cent on a 12-month basis in May, up from 1.2 per cent in April, the federal statistics office Destatis said on Wednesday. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.4 per cent in May from April. The final data confirmed a preliminary estimate released at the end of last month. Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the European Central Bank's inflation yardstick, the rate of inflation in Germany also accelerated to 1.6 per cent in May from 1.1 per cent in April, Destatis said. The ECB defines price stability as increases in HICP of close to but just below 2.0 per cent.