German inflation slows unexpectedly in September

BERLIN (Reuters) - German annual inflation unexpectedly slowed for the third consecutive month in September, data showed on Monday, lending support to ECB policymakers who argue more monetary stimulus is needed to guarantee price stability in the euro zone.

German consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries, rose by 0.9% year-on-year after an increase of 1.0% in the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The September reading was the lowest since November 2016 and undershot a Reuters forecast for 1.0%.

It also marked the fith month in a row that the inflation figure remained well below the European Central Bank's target level of close to but below 2% for the euro zone.

On the month, EU-harmonised prices fell by 0.1% after a decrease of 0.1% in the previous month. The market had expected an unchanged reading.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber,; Editing by Joseph Nasr)