Energy prices rose by around 17 percent in the euro zone in September.
(Photo: dpa)
Düsseldorf, Frankfurt In September, expensive energy drove the inflation rate in Germany above the four percent mark for the first time in almost 28 years. The price of goods and services rose by an average of 4.1 percent, the Federal Statistical Office confirmed an earlier estimate on Wednesday. This is the highest level since December 1993, when the inflation rate, fueled by the reunification boom, even climbed to 4.3 percent. In August it was 3.9 percent, in July it was 3.8 percent.
In the coming months, it should go further towards five percent, as companies have not yet fully passed on the cost surge from increased prices for materials to consumers. As a consequence of increasing shortages, many retailers now also want to raise their prices, as the Ifo Institute found out in its company survey. “The industry has announced price increases and this is now inevitably affecting retailers,” said Ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe.
The development in energy is once again responsible for the increase in September: it cost 14.3 percent more than a year earlier. “The basic effects were essential for this, as we are comparing the current prices with the very low prices of the previous year,” said Christoph-Martin Mai from the statistical office.
The CO2 tax introduced at the beginning of the year also increases the rate of price increases for energy products. The price of heating oil rose particularly sharply at 76.5 percent, as did fuels and petrol at 28.4 percent. Natural gas (plus 5.7 percent) and electricity (plus 2.0) also cost more than a year ago.
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Food prices have risen above average
Food prices also rose at an above-average rate of 4.9 percent. Vegetables even cost 9.2 percent more, while dairy products and eggs were 5.5 percent more. In addition, consumer goods such as vehicles (plus 6.4 percent) or furniture and lighting (plus 4.4 percent) also rose significantly. Services cost 2.5 percent more, with apartment rents increasing by 1.4 percent.
However, the strong inflation is also due to temporary special effects. These include the extremely low starting level for raw material prices, pandemic and lockdown-related catch-up effects or the temporary VAT reduction in the fight against the corona crisis in the second half of 2020.
According to preliminary figures, the inflation rate in the euro zone also rose significantly to 3.4 percent in September. It is as high as it was last 13 years ago.
Economists disagree on how long inflation will last. “Inflationary pressure will remain very high until the end of the year,” said Friedrich Heinemann from the Mannheim Center for European Economic Research. From his point of view, things won’t really get really exciting until January, when many special effects expire. “It is certain that inflation will then drop again from its current level. However, it is completely unclear how quickly a moderate level of around two percent can be reached again. This question is open for 2022. “
The ECB itself raised its inflation forecast significantly in September. For this year, it now expects a rate of increase of 2.2 percent for the euro area. After that, she reckons with lower values of 1.7 percent for 2022 and 1.5 percent for 2023.
From the point of view of economists, whether inflation stays higher for longer depends above all on whether wages also rise more strongly. So far, this has not been reflected in the data.
More: Plus 16.5 percent: German imports are becoming more expensive than they have been since 1981.