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Rising grain price: combine harvesters in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
The already high inflation in Germany continues to rise.
In October, wholesale prices rose by 15.2 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.
This is the strongest increase since 1974, when prices rose by 15.8 percent in the wake of the first oil crisis.
Unusually high price rises had already been recorded in the previous months: In September the rate of inflation was 13.2 percent and in August it was 12.3 percent.
The development is an indicator of future inflation tendencies, as wholesaling is the hinge between manufacturers and end customers.
At 4.5 percent, the inflation rate is currently higher than it has been since 1993 and, according to experts, should continue to move towards five percent by the end of the year.
The high increase can be explained by the sharp rise in prices for many raw materials and intermediate products.
Petroleum products were 54.7 percent more expensive than a year earlier.
Ores and metals were 60.9 percent more expensive, wood was 48.4 percent more expensive.
The price of old and residual materials rose by as much as 81.2 percent.
The prices for grain, raw tobacco, seeds and animal feed also rose significantly (plus 26.8 percent).
The price increases are mainly the result of the corona pandemic, which has led to disruptions in world trade.
Supply chain problems will not subside until the end of 2022
Wholesale is one of several economic levels on which the general price level is formed.
In addition to wholesale, this includes the prices for goods imported into Germany and the prices that manufacturers receive for their products, the producer prices.
They all have an impact on consumer prices, on which the European Central Bank (ECB) aligns its monetary policy.
According to ECB Council member Olli Rehn, the supply chain problems that act as inflation drivers will also make themselves felt in the euro area next year.
Noticeable relief is likely to be expected towards the end of 2022, said the Finn.
The inflation rate in the euro area was 4.1 percent in October, the highest it has been in over 13 years.
However, the ECB expects the price surge to subside in 2022.
It is aiming for an inflation rate of two percent.
In their annual report for the federal government, the economic experts expect an inflation rate of 3.1 percent in Germany for the year to come.
It is expected to fall to 2.6 percent in 2022.
kig / dpa-AFX / Reuters
