January's increase in consumer prices coincided with an unexpectedly steep 1.1 percent jump in prices paid to manufacturers and other producers last month.

The restored section of the wall at Badaling, undulating up the unexpectedly steep hillsides, can be a test of a tourist's endurance.

But like previous roads, this one proved unexpectedly steep.

The maneuver sent the kender into an unexpectedly steep dive.

Instead, investors are focusing on a new worry - possible inflation - after two recent government reports of unexpectedly steep price increases in January.

Unemployment climbed to its highest level in three years in July, while factory orders fell an unexpectedly steep 3.2 percent in June.

Consumer spending has also slumped in recent months, with unexpectedly steep declines in motor vehicle sales.

That coincided with an unexpectedly steep 1.1 percent jump in prices paid to manufacturers and other producers.

Likewise, the unexpectedly steep decline of 13 percent in the Frankfurt exchange reflected unique West German attitudes.

Already, economic growth in the second quarter has been revised downward a bit and consumer confidence registered an unexpectedly steep decline in August.