German production costs at their highest for 70 years

Producer prices jump nearly 50% for two consecutive months

German manufacturers raised prices by nearly 50% in September year on year, following similar increases in recent months, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Thursday.

Producer prices for commercial products rose 45.8% in September from the same month last year, Destatis said. The rate was 2.3% higher than in August, which saw an identical rise of 45.8% year-on-year.

“August and September 2022 were therefore the largest increases in producer prices compared to a month of the previous year measured since the start of the survey in 1949”, wrote the statistics authority.

Rising energy costs are the main reason for higher commercial producer prices, Destatis continued, saying electricity cost redistributors 259.8% more than a year earlier.

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Producer prices are factory gate prices and are considered the engine of general inflation. Germany’s consumer price index was 10% year-on-year in September.

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