By Maria Martinez
The index of producer prices for industrial products in Germany rose 14.2% in September compared with the prior year, the German statistics office Destatis said Wednesday.
This was the highest year-on-year increase since October 1974, when prices rose strongly during the first oil crisis, Destatis said.
"Wednesday's figures indicate that clouds are set to remain over Germany's export-driven economy," said Thomas Rinn, Accenture's global industrial lead. German manufacturers are continuing to grapple with surges in freight costs spurred by the global shortage of key materials, such as plastic, steel and timber following the pandemic, he said.
Compared with the preceding month, the index rose by 2.3% in September.
The main driver of the rise was energy prices, the statistics office said. Energy prices rose by 32.6% year-on-year, due to the strong increase in natural gas prices. The overall index after stripping out energy was up 8.6% on year in September, Destatis said.
Prices of intermediate goods increased by 17.4% compared with September 2020, Destatis said. Intermediate goods prices increased, particularly for sawn timber, as well as wooden packaging materials, secondary raw materials and reinforcing steel in bars.
Prices of durable consumer goods rose 3.2% year-on-year, while capital goods, such as machines and vehicles, rose by 2.8%, Destatis said. Prices of non-durable consumer goods increased by 2.2% compared to September 2020.
With supply chain frictions set to remain for the quarter, maintaining resilience across the freight and logistics division will be a key driver of post-pandemic success, Mr. Rinn said.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-20-21 0317ET
