Press release No. 198 of 14 June 2017
WIESBADEN – Consumer prices in Germany were 1.5% higher in May 2017 than in May 2016. The inflation rate – measured by the consumer price index – thus decreased, following an increase in the previous month (April 2017: +2.0%, March 2017: +1.6%). Compared with April 2017, the consumer price index fell by 0.2% in May 2017. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) thus confirms its provisional overall results of 30 May 2017.
Energy prices were up 2.0% in May 2017 compared with a year earlier (April and March 2017: +5.1% each). The impact of the energy price development on the inflation rate diminished markedly. In May 2017, especially mineral oil products were more expensive than a year earlier (+5.8%, of which heating oil: +11.7%; motor fuels: +4.4%). The year-on-year rates of price increase showed diverging trends for the other energy products. Electricity prices, for example, were up by 1.2%, while gas prices were down by 3.4%. Excluding energy (total), the inflation rate in May 2017 was +1.4%.
Food prices in May 2017 rose 2.4% on May 2016, their increase being slightly larger than that of energy prices. The year-on-year rise in food prices thus accelerated (April 2017: +1.8%). In May 2017, prices of edible fats and oils (+19.5%) and of dairy products (+10.5%) were substantially up on a year earlier. Consumers paid more also for many other food groups such as fish and fish products (+4.0%), meat and meat products (+1.4%) and fruit (+1.2%). Not considering energy and food prices, the inflation rate was +1.3% in May 2017.
Prices of goods (total) rose 1.8% from May 2016 to May 2017. Year-on-year price increases were recorded not only for energy and food but also for goods such as newspapers and periodicals (+4.9%), jewellery, clocks and watches (+4.9%), tobacco products (+3.3%) and pharmaceutical products (+3.0%). Price decreases were observed, among others, for consumer electronics (–3.2%).
Prices of services (total) rose by 1.2% on a year earlier, that is, the increase was slightly smaller than for goods. The rise in net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.8% on May 2016) had a major impact as households spend a large part of their consumption expenditure on this item. In addition, slightly larger price increases were observed, for example, for maintenance and repair of vehicles (+3.3%) and catering services (+1.9%). The prices of some services were down, for example, package holidays (–2.4%) and services of social facilities (–6.8%); the latter was due to the implementation of Act II on Strengthening Long-Term Care in January 2017. Especially regarding home care services, there was a decrease in the co-payments to be made by people who are insured under a statutory health insurance scheme and make use of individual care services.
Change in May 2017 on April 2017
Compared with April 2017, the consumer price index fell by 0.2% in May 2017. Especially energy prices decreased 1.4% on a month earlier. Prices were markedly down both for heating oil (–6.5%) and motor fuels (–2.6%, including supergrade petrol: –2.3%, diesel fuel: –3.0%). Slight month-on-month price decreases were also observed, for example, for clothing (–0.6%) and footwear (–0.4%).
Food prices remained unchanged on the previous month. Considerable price decreases were observed especially for vegetables (–4.6%, including tomatoes: –19.8%; cucumbers: –14.2%; butterhead lettuce or iceberg salad: –12.4%), whereas price rises were recorded, for example, for edible fats and oils (+2.2%, including butter: +4.4%) and dairy products (+1.1%; including UHT milk: +2.5%; cream: +2.7%).
| Overall index / subindex | Weighting | Index 2010 = 100 | Change on the same period a year earlier | Change on the preceding month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in per mill | in per cent | |||
| a Due to the changeover to other destinations, the rate of change on the previous month in reference month May cannot be interpreted as a pure price movement. | ||||
| Overall index | 1.000.00 | 108.8 | 1.5 | –0.2 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 102.71 | 115.7 | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| Food | 90.52 | 115.9 | 2.4 | 0.0 |
| Meat | 20.76 | 114.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Fruit | 8.76 | 129.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Vegetables | 11.26 | 109.1 | –2.4 | –4.6 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.59 | 118.8 | 2.4 | 0.7 |
| Clothing and footwear | 44.93 | 111.0 | 1.7 | –0.6 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 317.29 | 109.4 | 1.5 | –0.1 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 209.93 | 109.6 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| Household energy | 68.19 | 109.1 | 0.8 | –0.7 |
| Electricity | 26.21 | 127.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| Gas | 14.46 | 103.6 | –3.4 | –0.2 |
| Heating oil | 11.11 | 84.1 | 11.7 | –6.5 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and so on | 49.78 | 104.0 | –0.1 | 0.0 |
| Health | 44.44 | 107.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| Transport | 134.73 | 107.2 | 2.4 | –0.6 |
| Motor fuels | 38.37 | 95.3 | 4.4 | –2.6 |
| Supergrade petrol | 28.38 | 96.2 | 3.9 | –2.3 |
| Diesel fuel | 9.19 | 93.2 | 6.2 | –3.0 |
| Communication | 30.10 | 89.8 | –0.6 | 0.0 |
| Recreation and culture | 114.92 | 104.9 | 0.8 | –0.5 |
| Package holidays | 26.83 | 96.5 | –2.4 | –2.8 a |
| Education | 8.80 | 95.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 44.67 | 115.3 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 70.04 | 109.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding food and energy | 802.92 | 108.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 893.44 | 109.4 | 1.4 | 0.0 |
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 950.52 | 109.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| Goods | 479.77 | 108.8 | 1.8 | –0.3 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 307.89 | 111.2 | 2.0 | –0.4 |
| Energy | 106.56 | 104.1 | 2.0 | –1.4 |
| Services | 520.23 | 108.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| Overall index ________ Year / Month | Index 2010 = 100 | Change on the previous year | Change on the previous month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in % | ||||
| A = annual average –= no figures or magnitude zero | ||||
| 2015 A | 106.9 | 0.3 | − | |
| 2016 A | 107.4 | 0.5 | − | |
| 2016 | May | 107.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| June | 107.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | |
| July | 107.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
| August | 107.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | |
| September | 107.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | |
| October | 107.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | |
| November | 108.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | |
| December | 108.8 | 1.7 | 0.7 | |
| 2017 | January | 108.1 | 1.9 | –0.6 |
| February | 108.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | |
| March | 109.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | |
| April | 109.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | |
| May | 108.8 | 1.5 | –0.2 | |
Harmonised index of consumer prices for Germany
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated for European purposes, rose 1.4% in May 2017 on May 2016. Compared with April 2017, the index fell by 0.2% in May 2017. This confirmed the HICP estimates of 30 May 2017.
Detailed data and long time series of consumer price statistics can also be found in the Genesis Online database in tables 61111-0004 and 61111-0006 (consumer price index) as well as in tables 61121-0002 and 61121-0004 (harmonised consumer price index).