German producer prices post biggest decline on record

German producer prices posted their biggest year-on-year decline in August since data collection began in 1949, spurring hopes for further easing of inflation in Europe’s largest economy.

Producer prices decreased by 12.6% on the year, the federal statistics office reported on Wednesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 12.6% decline.

As a result of the war in Ukraine, the increase in producer prices in August 2022 was 45.8% on the year, the highest ever registered since records began. Therefore, the comparison between August 2022 and August 2023 showed a strong decline.

Germany’s producer prices index, considered a key inflation indicator, has been easing steadily since September of last year.

In July, German producer prices fell by 6.0%, posting their first decline in over two-and-a-half years as energy price pressures cooled.

Compared with July, producer prices were up 0.3% in August, data from the statistics office showed.
Source: Reuters