Inflation rises above the five percent mark again

Created: 03/11/2022, 08:56

A woman stands at a market stall and has the cash ready for her purchase.

© Jonas Walzberg/dpa

Some economists are now anticipating that there could be a seven in front of the decimal point in the inflation rate over the next few months.

Wiesbaden - Another jump in energy prices drove inflation in Germany back above the five percent mark in February.

Consumer prices rose by 5.1 percent compared to February 2021, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday.

The Wiesbaden authority thus confirmed an initial estimate.

The annual inflation rate was 4.9 percent in January 2022 and 5.3 percent in December 2021.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices rose by 0.9 percent in February.

"The corona-related effects are increasingly overshadowed by the effects of the attack by Russia on Ukraine," explained Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office.

However, the current price increases, especially for mineral oil products, are not yet reflected in the February results.

Russia's attack on Ukraine had further fueled crude oil and natural gas prices.

Some economists are now anticipating that there could be a seven in front of the decimal point in the inflation rate over the next few months.

Higher inflation weakens the purchasing power of consumers because they can then buy less for one euro than before.

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In February, fuel cost 25.8 percent more than a year earlier.

Light heating oil rose in price by 52.6 percent, natural gas by 35.7 percent and electricity by 13.0 percent.

The increase in the CO2 tax at the beginning of the year from EUR 25 to EUR 30 per tonne of carbon dioxide also had an impact.

Excluding energy, the inflation rate would have been 3.3 percent in February.

dpa