The annual increase in consumer prices in Germany accelerated again in April, maintaining an upward trend against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. According to the Federal Statistical Office, inflation is expected to reach 2.9% in April, comparing to a rate of 2.7% in the preceding month. This marks a projected increase of 0.6% compared to the previous month.
A more indicative measure is the consumer price index excluding food and energy, often called core inflation. This was expected to stand at 2.3%, which represents a drop of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, placing it significantly below the overall index level.
Analyzing the specific price movements, energy prices saw a substantial year-over-year jump of 10.1% in April-the strongest price increase recorded for energy since February 2023 (when the increase was 19.1% compared to February 2022). Meanwhile, the price hike for food was lower, at 1.2%, and the cost of services increased by 2.8%.