German inflation accelerates to 2.8% in July

By Maria Martinez

BERLIN, July 30 (Reuters) - German inflation rose in July on higher energy prices caused by the Iran conflict, while core inflation fell slightly.

Inflation accelerated to 2.8% year-on-year, in line with forecasts, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the EU-harmonised consumer price index to come in at 2.8% in July, compared with 2.4% the month before.

Energy inflation drove the increase, rising to 8.3% in July from 3.4% in the previous month.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell to 2.4% from 2.5% in June.

The German data come ahead of the euro zone inflation release on Friday. Inflation in the bloc is expected to come in at 2.9%, slightly above June's 2.8%, according to economists polled by Reuters.

The European Central Bank kept borrowing costs on hold in July but left room for more tightening in the coming months as a widening conflict in the Middle East pushed up energy prices again.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Miranda Murray and María Martínez; editing by Thomas Seythal)