German inflation spirals

Soaring energy costs are pushing up consumer prices, official statistics show

Annual inflation in Germany accelerated to 8.8% in August, the highest level in nearly 50 years, finalized data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed on Tuesday.

According to the agency’s press release, the figure rose from 8.5% in July (on an EU-harmonized basis), driven by soaring prices of energy products and food. When using German standards, consumer prices rose by 7.9%, in line with market forecasts.

“The main reason for the high inflation still is price rises for energy products and food. Two measures of the relief package had a slight downward effect on the overall inflation rate especially from June to August 2022: the €9 ticket and the fuel discount,” said Destatis President Georg Thiel.

The report highlighted that energy product prices were up 35.6% year-on-year despite the relief measures. There was a particularly large price increase for household energy, it noted. Heating oil prices more than doubled, while natural gas prices surged by 83.8%.

Germany’s cost-of-living crisis also saw food prices soar by 16.6%, accelerating for the sixth month in a row.

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