BERLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - German annual inflation increased further in January, hitting the highest level in three-and-a-half years to reach the European Central Bank's price stability target of just under 2 percent, preliminary data showed on Monday.
German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European countries (HICP), rose by 1.9 percent on the year after an increase of 1.7 percent in December, the Federal Statistics Office said.
The data came in slightly weaker than a Reuters consensus forecast of 2.0 percent. Still, it was the highest annual inflation rate since July 2013.
On a non-harmonized basis, German annual inflation picked up to 1.9 percent after 1.7 percent in December.
Rising energy prices and higher food costs were the drivers behind the overall increase in January, a breakdown of the non-harmonized data showed.
The figures are likely to further fuel the political debate in Europe's biggest economy about an end to the ECB's loose monetary policy.
A sustained recovery in German inflation would give Bundesbank President and ECB rate-setter Jens Weidmann more scope to argue for winding down the ECB's bond-buying programme more quickly.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Joseph Nasr)