German companies have reportedly increased their prices at record speed, especially for natural gas, electricity, meat and coffee products, amid the Russian-Ukrainian war.
In Germany, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 33.5 percent last month compared to the same period of 2021 due to the impact of rising energy prices due to the war in the region.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced the PPI data for April.
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Accordingly, the PPI in Germany rose by 2.8 percent in April compared to March and by 33.5 percent compared to April 2021. The markets expected the PPI to increase by 31.5 percent in April.
The increase in April was the highest annual increase since 1949, when PPI statistics began to be recorded. Thus, the record series in producer inflation in industrial products continued in April.
Industrial PPI increased by 30.9 percent and 25.9 percent year-on-year in March and February, respectively.
“The available data (April PPI data) reflect the effects of the war in Ukraine,” Destatis said in a statement.
Natural gas distribution prices increased by 154.8 percent
According to the data, energy prices rose by 87.3 percent in April compared to the same period of the previous year.
Electricity prices increased by 87.7 percent and natural gas distribution prices increased by 154.8 percent.
On an annual basis, April saw a 26 percent increase in intermediate goods prices, an 8.3 percent increase in durable goods prices and a 6.7 percent increase in capital goods prices.
It is noteworthy that vegetable oil prices increased by 70 percent compared to the previous year, while meat prices increased by 41.6 percent and coffee prices increased by 30.8 percent.
The PPI rose 16.3 percent year-on-year in April, excluding energy prices. Producer prices are seen as a leading indicator for the development of inflation.
Meanwhile, annual inflation in Germany, which was 7.3 percent in March, rose to 7.4 percent in April on the latest surge in energy prices, which have risen as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, reaching the highest level since 1981.
