German Producer Prices Rise at Fastest Annual Pace in Almost 70 Years

By Maria Martinez

The producer price index for industrial products in Germany rose 18.4% in October compared with the prior year, the German statistics office Destatis said Friday.

This was the highest on-year increase since November 1951, Destatis said.

"Friday's figures show that Germany's export-driven industrial sector remains at the mercy of supply bottlenecks and port backlogs," Thomas Rinn, Accenture's global industrial lead, said.

Compared with the previous month, the index rose by 3.8% in October.

The main driver of the increase was energy prices, the statistics office said. Energy prices rose by 48.2% on year, due to the strong rise in natural gas prices. The overall index, after stripping out energy, was up 9.2% on year in October, Destatis said.

Prices of intermediate goods increased by 18.1% compared with October 2020, Destatis said. Intermediate goods prices increased particularly for metals, raw materials, sawn timber, and wood.

Prices of durable consumer goods rose 3.4% on year, while capital goods, such as machines and vehicles, rose by 3.2%, Destatis said. Prices of nondurable consumer goods increased by 3.0% compared with October 2020.

While the outlook for the new year is yet to be determined, there remains a general uncertainty as to when supply-chain disruption will dissipate, Mr. Rinn said.

Write to Maria Martinez at [e-mail]

Corrections & Amplifications

This article was corrected at 1449 GMT to fix the period of time in the headline. German producer prices rose at their fastest annual pace in almost 70 years, not 60 years.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-19-21 0309ET