German producer prices fall significantly for the fourth month in a row
German producer prices fell sharply in October for the fourth month in a row. Producers of industrial products - from butter to petrol - charged an average of 11.0 percent less than a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had expected a fall of this magnitude, after September had seen the biggest drop since the survey began in 1949, at minus 14.7 percent. Producer prices also fell from September to October, albeit by only 0.1 percent.
This development is good news for consumers: the statistics record the prices of products before they are processed or sold. They therefore allow early conclusions to be drawn about the development of consumer prices. At 3.8 percent, consumer prices rose in October at the slowest rate in over two years. Economists expect the inflation rate to fall further by the end of the year.
"The development is still due in particular to a base effect due to the very high price level in the previous year," explained the statisticians on the current development of producer prices. In August and September 2022, these rose more sharply than at any time since the start of the survey (+45.8% in both cases) as a result of the war in Ukraine, while in October 2022 they rose slightly less sharply at 34.5%.
Producer prices in the past month were dampened primarily by energy, which cost 27.9% less than in October 2022, with electricity prices falling by 36.2%. Light heating oil fell by 22.3% and fuels such as petrol by 12.8%. Natural gas was 29.6 percent less expensive.
Food, on the other hand, cost an average of 3.7 percent more than in the same month last year. The price of processed potatoes rose by 29.4 percent. Fruit and vegetable products cost 16.0% more than a year earlier. Prices for butter, on the other hand, fell by 29.5 percent, liquid milk was 8.8 percent cheaper and coffee 4.6 percent cheaper than a year ago.
The drop in producer prices in October was seen across various products, including butter, which had a decrease of 29.5%. Butters producers, like those of other industrial goods, were affected by the fourth consecutive month of price falls. Moreover, the decrease in gasoline prices also contributed to this, as they dropped by 12.8% in October compared to the same period last year.
Source: www.ntv.de
