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Harvest in Bad Hersfeld: prices for fertilizers have risen sharply
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Manufacturers of industrial products asked higher prices for their products in August than ever before.
Compared to the same month last year, producer prices for commercial products rose by an average of 45.8 percent, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office.
Compared to the previous month, they increased by 7.9 percent – also the highest increase since the survey began in 1949.
The price index had already recorded new record increases every month from December to May.
Inflation slowed down slightly in June, but picked up sharply again from July.
The increasing energy costs were always decisive.
In August, energy cost producers an average of 139 percent more than in the same month last year.
Compared to the previous month, the increase was 20 percent.
Electricity price increases had the greatest impact on the rate of change (179 percent).
Redistributors even paid a good 278 percent more than a year earlier.
Indicator for the development of consumer prices
The price of gas also drove producer prices up: natural gas was 265 percent more expensive for industrial customers and 237 percent more for resellers.
Gas prices rose slightly less for buyers of smaller quantities, by 91 percent for companies and by 84 percent for households.
Excluding energy, producer prices were 14 percent higher than in August 2021, barely increasing compared to the previous month.
There were very high price increases for fertilizers and nitrogen compounds (109 percent higher than in the previous year), mainly because the precursor ammonia became even more expensive.
The producer prices are considered an indicator for the development of consumer prices, which have already risen significantly as a result of the Ukraine war and the massive increase in energy costs.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the index measures the development of prices for the products produced in Germany in the mining, manufacturing and energy and water industries and sold domestically.
Economists were surprised by the development.
According to a Reuters survey, they had expected a drop to 37.1 percent.
“So today's producer prices send a mixed message.
The declining momentum in the prices of intermediate goods is encouraging that the increase in consumer prices will also peak in the coming months," explains Ralph Solveen from Commerzbank.
However, the renewed boost in energy prices shows that new record highs in consumer price inflation can also be expected in the coming months.
»Companies will only be able to pass part of the price increases on to their customers.
But even this remainder will continue to fuel inflation,” adds Jens-Oliver Niklasch from LBBW.
“None of this bodes well for inflation.
She came to stay.”
mik/AFP/Reuters