German Producer Prices Rise at Fastest Annual Pace in History

By Maria Martinez

The producer price index for industrial products in Germany rose 24.2% in December compared with the prior year, posting its biggest on-year increase in history, the German statistics office Destatis said Thursday.

Compared with the previous month, the index rose by 5.0% in December, the statistics office said.

The main driver of the increase was energy prices, the statistics office said. Energy prices rose by 69.0% on year because of the strong rise in natural-gas prices of 121.9% compared with December 2020. The overall index, after stripping out energy, was up 10.4% on year in December, Destatis said.

Prices of intermediate goods increased by 19.3% compared with December 2020, Destatis said. Intermediate goods prices increased particularly for metals, raw materials, sawn timber, and wood.

Prices of durable consumer goods rose 3.7% on year, while capital goods, such as machines and vehicles, rose by 3.8%, Destatis said. Prices of nondurable consumer goods increased by 4.7% compared with December 2020, it said.

In 2021, the annual average index of producer prices for industrial products increased 10.5% compared with the average index of 2020.

Write to Maria Martinez at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-20-22 0347ET