Press release No. 216 of 16 June 2020
Consumer price index, May 2020
+0.6% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
-0.1% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, May 2020
+0.5% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
0.0% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
WIESBADEN − The inflation rate in Germany, measured as the year-on-year change in the consumer price index, stood at +0.6% in May 2020. The inflation rate decreased for the third consecutive month. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that consumer prices fell by 0.1% compared with April 2020.
Due to declining energy prices, the prices of goods went down by 0.4% compared with the previous year.
The prices of goods (total) decreased by 0.4% from May 2019 to May 2020. This was mainly due to the decline in energy product prices, which accelerated to 8.5% (April: -5.8%). As a oil price slump in the world market, which has been observed since the beginning of the year, in particular the prices of heatingf oil (-30.5%) and motor fuels (-20.7%) declined sharply compared with the same month a year earlier. Electricity prices, in contrast, rose by 4.2%. This was still due to the increase in the EEG surcharge at the beginning of the year. Food prices rose by an above-average 4.5% compared with May 2019. Consumers paid higher prices especially for fruit (+10.5%) and for meat and meat products (+9.2%), while the prices of edible fats and oils declined (-4.5%).
Inflation rate excluding energy products (+1.6%) markedly higher than overall inflation
In particular, the sharply decreasing prices of energy products had a downward effect on the inflation rate. Excluding energy product prices, the inflation rate would have been much higher at +1.6% in May 2020.
Above-average 1.3% increase in service prices compared with the previous year
The prices of services (total) rose by an above-average 1.3% in May 2020 compared with the same month a year earlier. A major factor contributing to the development of service prices was the increase in net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.4%), as households spend a large part of their consumption expenditure on this item. The relaxation of coronavirus restrictions enabled consumers to use more services. However, they had to pay, for example, 4.4% more for hairdresser services and other services for personal care than a year ago. A 2.4% increase in prices was also observed for visits to restaurants, cafés and the like. One reason probably was the implementation of hygienic measures after reopening during the corona pandemic.
Month-on-month decline in energy prices, but increase in fruit prices
Compared with April 2020, the overall consumer price index was down by 0.1% in May 2020. Energy product prices declined markedly by 1.3%, especially the prices of heating oil (-7.0%) and motor fuels (-2.4%). Fruit prices, in contrast, were up by 1.3%.
Methodological note on data quality: Again, some prices could not be collected in the reference month of May 2020 due to the present coronavirus crisis. However, the number of prices obtained was up again from April. The quality of the results for May 2020 is assured; restrictions in the quality of a small number of partial results were marked in the relevant publications.
The prices of goods and services which could not be collected or only be collected to a very limited extent were updated using various methods or - in the case of goods with stable prices - taken from the previous month. The methodological approach was closely coordinated with the statistical offices of the Länder and Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. For more information about the methods used and about the impact of the corona crisis on price collection please refer to our Methodological paper.
Crisis Monitor enables comparison between corona crisis and financial/economic crisis
The consumer price index also forms part of the "Crisis Monitor" (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), by means of which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the corona crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. The Crisis Monitor complements the Corona statistics webpage, which has provided statistical information on the economic and social consequences of the corona pandemic since early April.
| Overall index / subindex | Weighting | Index 2015 = 100 | Change on the same period a month earlier | Change on the preceding month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in per mill | in per cent | |||
1: Results do not include charges. ( ) limited informational value because numerical value is of limited statistical reliability. | ||||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 106.0 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 96.85 | 111.6 | 4.2 | 0.1 |
| Food | 84.87 | 112.4 | 4.5 | 0.1 |
| Meat and meat products | 18.60 | 115.6 | 9.2 | 0.3 |
| Fruit | 8.88 | 116.2 | 10.5 | 1.3 |
| Vegetables | 11.08 | 116.7 | 2.7 | -2.7 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.77 | 114.1 | 2.9 | 0.7 |
| Clothing and footwear | 45.34 | 104.8 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 324.70 | 105.8 | 0.9 | -0.1 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 196.32 | 106.9 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 68.82 | 100.9 | -1.8 | -0.8 |
| Electricity | 25.92 | 111.2 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
| Gas 1 | 13.53 | 97.2 | 1.7 | 0.0 |
| Heating oil 1 | 7.01 | 83.4 | -30.5 | -7.0 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 50.04 | 103.5 | 1.0 | -0.4 |
| Health | 46.13 | 106.0 | 1.5 | -0.1 |
| Transport | 129.05 | 103.1 | -4.5 | -0.7 |
| Motor fuels | 35.01 | 87.6 | -20.7 | -2.4 |
| Supergrade petrol | 25.66 | 86.3 | -21.6 | -1.7 |
| Diesel fuel | 8.64 | 90.9 | -19.0 | -4.3 |
| Communication | 26.72 | 95.5 | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| Recreation and culture | 113.36 | 103.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Package holidays | 26.62 | (96.8) | (-2.9) | (-1.9) |
| Education | 9.02 | 102.3 | -2.2 | -0.1 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 46.77 | 111.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 74.25 | 108.0 | 2.1 | 0.4 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding food and energy | 811.30 | 106.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 896.17 | 107.1 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 957.98 | 106.8 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Goods | 468.16 | 104.9 | -0.4 | -0.2 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 297.54 | 105.8 | -0.8 | -0.2 |
| Energy | 103.83 | 96.4 | -8.5 | -1.3 |
| Services | 531.84 | 106.9 | 1.3 | 0.0 |
More information on consumer price statistics is provided by Fachserie 17, Reihe 7.
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).
