German import prices are falling more than they have been since 2009
This time, energy imports were 31.8 percent cheaper than in April 2022, one reason for this is falling prices for imported natural gas
Source: Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
In April, imports from Germany recorded the sharpest drop in prices since the 2009 financial crisis. This is mainly due to cheaper energy. Prices fell by an average of seven percent.
Dhe prices for German imports are in April because of cheaper energy the sharpest drop since the 2009 global financial crisis. Imports fell by an average of 7.0 percent compared to the same month last year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. This is the sharpest drop in prices since October 2009, when the financial crisis triggered a global economic slowdown. Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had only expected a minus of 5.8 percent. In March, there was a minus 3.8 percent, the first year-on-year decline since January 2021. Compared to the previous month, import prices fell by 1.7 percent this time, the eighth time in a row.
“The decisive factor for the decline is above all a base effect from the high price level in the previous year due to the war in Ukraine,” the statisticians explained the trend. Since the German economy has many primary products and raw materials from abroad, falling import prices also affect general inflation and consumers with a delay. The Cost of living expected in May economists surveyed by Reuters expect the 6.5 percent increase compared to the same month last year to be slower than it has been for more than a year. The statistical office wants to publish a first official estimate in the afternoon.
This time, energy imports were 31.8 percent cheaper than in April 2022, the second full month since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. One reason for this is falling prices for imported natural gas: there was a minus of 38.7 percent. Hard coal (-44.2 percent), electricity (-38.6 percent), as well as petroleum products (-28.4 percent) and crude oil (-21.2 percent) were also significantly cheaper.
The prices for imported consumer goods, on the other hand, rose by 4.6 percent. At Food continued to increase continued: Here the premium was 10.4 percent. The prices for fruit and vegetable products (+13.9 percent) and meat and meat products (+9.2 percent) rose particularly sharply.
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