According to the German Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden, Germany's year-on-year inflation rate touched the lowest level ever in the past 22 years zero - with the reported 'zero percent' in May! The inflation rate in April stood at 0.7 percent.

Revised from the original estimate of minus 0.1 percent, the May inflation rate figure of zero percent is the lowest inflation reading since the Wiesbaden-based office first started compiling the harmonized data in 1996. The May inflation rate was largely a result of lower energy costs and deteriorating demand.

Official figures showed that while the consumer price index for May remained at the same level as the previous year; the index showed a marginal decline of 0.1 percent in May in comparison to the April index.

Commenting on the inflation rate, Stefan Bielmeier - head of economic research at Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank AG - said: "Inflation will fall below zero in the next few months and stay there based on oil prices. The risk of deflation is small because core inflation is relatively high."

While the European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark has opined that inflation in the 16-nation Euro region has moderated "only marginally" during the past year, Bundesbank - forecasting the shrinking of the economy by 6.2 percent - said that German inflation will average 0.1 percent this year!