Tyour power Because of the Russian struggle towards the Ukraine, German imports grew to become dearer in April than they’ve been in a long time. Import prices elevated by 31.7 p.c in comparison with the identical month final yr, because the Federal Statistical Workplace introduced on Monday. “The final time there was a better year-on-year change was in September 1974 as a part of the primary oil disaster,” it mentioned. In March it was already 31.2 p.c. Economists surveyed by Reuters had now even anticipated a rise of 32.0 p.c. The elevated prices of imports are more likely to trigger client prices to proceed to rise sharply.
“The present information additionally displays the consequences of the struggle in Ukraine,” mentioned the statisticians. This turns into seen within the power sector. Right here, imports have been 157.4 p.c dearer than in April 2021. That is due specifically to pure fuel, which price 4 occasions as a lot as in the identical interval final yr (+301.2 p.c). Mineral oil merchandise have been additionally considerably dearer at plus 106.6 p.c and crude oil at plus 77.5 p.c. Excluding power, import prices in April solely rose by 17.1 p.c in comparison with the identical month final yr.
In the midst of the Russian struggle towards Ukraine, the inflation rate in Germany is presently 7.4 p.c, the highest since 1981. Economists polled by Reuters predict an additional enhance to 7.6 p.c for Could. In response to preliminary information from the federal states, the inflation rate may very well be even larger: in North Rhine-Westphalia, for instance, it was 8.1 p.c. The Federal Statistical Workplace intends to publish an preliminary estimate within the afternoon.
The Ifo Institute expects inflation to regularly subside from the center of the yr. The rationale for that is that in Could, for the primary time in months, the proportion of firms that need to enhance their prices within the subsequent three months fell, because the Munich financial researchers discovered in their survey. “We anticipate round six p.c for the yr as a complete,” mentioned Ifo financial chief Timo Wollmershäuser.