German producer prices rose 4.2 per cent year on year in March, Federal Statistics Office data showed today.
The figure was unchanged from February and in line with economists' forecasts.
On the month, factory gate prices were up 0.6 per cent, slightly above a forecast of 0.5 per cent in a poll of 30 economists conducted on Friday.
"The further rise in producer prices was above all due again to more costly energy," the office said in a statement.
Energy prices rose 2 per cent month on month and 10 per cent year on year, it said.
However, excluding energy costs, producer price inflation slowed to 2.6 per cent year on year from 3.1 per cent in February, indicating firms - as signalled by business surveys - were still struggling to pass on higher costs.
German manufacturing output prices rose for a 12th consecutive month in March but at the slowest pace since December, a purchasing managers' index compiled by NTC Research showed on April 1st.