Manufacturers’ prices for industrial goods in May 2025 were 1.2 percent lower than in May 2024, according to the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This decrease was mainly driven by lower energy prices. Energy was 6.7 percent cheaper in May 2025 compared to the same month a year earlier and 0.9 percent lower than in April 2025. The prices of electricity, for instance, fell by 8.1 percent year on year and by 0.2 percent month on month.
In contrast, prices for investment goods rose by 1.9 percent compared to May 2024 and by 0.1 percent compared to April 2025. Machinery, for example, increased in price by 1.9 percent year on year and by 0.2 percent month on month. The prices of vehicles and vehicle parts, on the other hand, remained unchanged from the previous year, but rose by 0.1 percent from April 2025.
Consumer goods, however, were 3.6 percent more expensive in May 2025 than in May 2024 and 0.5 percent more expensive than in April 2025. Food, in particular, was 4.2 percent more expensive in May 2025 than in May 2024 and 0.6 percent more expensive than in April 2025. Some food items, such as coffee, rose in price by 41.2 percent year on year and by 0.3 percent month on month, while others, like sugar, fell by 39.9 percent year on year and by 3 percent month on month.
Household goods, which include glass and glassware, were 0.9 percent cheaper in May 2025 than in May 2024 and 0.8 percent cheaper than in April 2025, with hollow glass, in particular, being 6.1 percent cheaper than in May 2024 and unchanged from April 2025.
The prices of raw materials, such as metals, also showed a mixed picture, with some, like copper and copper semi-finished products, being 5.7 percent cheaper in May 2025 than in May 2024 and 0.8 percent more expensive than in April 2025, while others, like concrete steel, were 1.7 percent more expensive in May 2025 than in May 2024 and 0.3 percent less expensive than in April 2025.