berlin, Jan 17 : Germany's annual average inflation rate in 2023 decreased to 5.9 per cent from the previous year's 6.9 per cent, a record high since reunification in 1990, said the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Inflation in Europe's largest economy is "still at a high level," Ruth Brand, president of Destatis, said in a statement. "Food prices registered particularly sharp increases," Xinhua news agency quoted Brand as saying Although government measures partially cushioned the rise in energy prices, they still rose 5.3 per cent year on year in 2023, according to Destatis. At the beginning of 2024, the inflation rate is "likely to be influenced by tax and fiscal measures", the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) said in its monthly economic report. Despite inflation-reducing factors such as falling producer and import prices, the tight monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) and wage settlements will "continue to dominate over the rest of the year", BMWK added. /IANS