Germany’s federal statistics office (Destatis) confirmed on Friday that the inflation rate for August stood at 2.2 percent. This marks a slight increase compared to July and June, when it recorded 2.0 percent.
Ruth Brand, President of Destatis, stated that this is the first increase in the inflation rate observed this year. She noted that the rise in prices for food items was a contributing factor, while a deceleration in the price decline for energy products lessened the overall inflationary pressure.
Consumer prices increased by 0.1 percent compared to July. Energy product prices, however, were 2.4 percent lower than in the same month of the previous year. This deceleration in price decreases represents a trend observed for the fourth consecutive month and was notably less pronounced than the -3.4 percent decline recorded in July.
Over the year, prices for fuels (-2.5 percent) and household energy (-2.3 percent) also decreased. Consumers continued to benefit from lower prices for light heating oil (-5.2 percent) and fuels like firewood, wood pellets, or other burning materials (-3.5 percent). Electricity (-1.7 percent) and district heating (-1.6 percent) also saw price reductions compared to the previous year, although natural gas was slightly more expensive (+0.7 percent).
Food prices were 2.5 percent higher than in August of last year, exceeding the overall rate of inflation. In July, the increase for food items was slightly lower at +2.2 percent. The most significant price increases observed between August 2024 and August 2025 included fruits (+7.1 percent) and sugar, jams, honey and other confectionery items (+6.9 percent). Increases were also noted for dairy products and eggs (+3.2 percent) and meat and meat products (+2.9 percent).
Conversely, cooking fats and oils (-1.3 percent) and vegetables (-1.1 percent) were cheaper than a year earlier. Individual price fluctuations were substantial, with significant increases for items like chocolate (+21.3 percent) alongside decreases like those seen in olive oil (-22.6 percent).
The inflation rate, excluding food and energy-often referred to as core inflation-remained at 2.7 percent in August, consistent with the rates observed in the two preceding months.