Producer prices down in Germany for 1st time since November 2020

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Germany's producer prices decreased by 6% year-on-year in July, posting the first decline since November 2020, the country's federal statistical bureau stated on Monday.

The decline is largely due to a base effect, Destatis said and recalled that the prices had soared in July 2022 as a consequence of the Russian war on Ukraine.

"The main reason for the year-on-year decline in producer prices were lower energy prices, but also decreases in the prices of intermediate goods," it noted.

Energy prices in Germany dropped by 19.3% in July on a yearly basis, it said, adding that lower electricity prices had the biggest impact on producer inflation.

"Across all customer groups, electricity prices declined by 30.0% from July 2022," it added.

Natural gas prices decreased by 16.2% over the same period. It is also the first annual drop since December 2020.

Mineral oil prices were down by 16.6% year-on-year in July.

"When energy prices are excluded, producer prices were 2.0% higher than in July 2022 and 0.4% lower than in June 2023," it added.