German import prices fell 0.8% in August, which was less that the 1.0% decline anticipated by market participants. Meanwhile, the annual rate held steady at 9.3%, which only supports the ECB’s hawkish rhetoric that upside risks to inflation remains high. The breakdown of the report showed that prices excluding energy increased 0.5% from the previous month, which suggests that the central bank will not lower rates for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the euro-dollar (EURUSD) strengthened to reach a high of 1.4677 during the overnight session, but retraced earlier to hold near 1.4630.
