Press release No. 179 of 10 May 2023
Consumer price index, April 2023
+7.2% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+0.4% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, April 2023
+7.6% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+0.6% 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 (CPI), stood at +7.2% in April 2023. In March 2023, the inflation rate had been +7.4%. “The rate of inflation has therefore slowed for the second month in a row but remains at a high level”, says Ruth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office. She adds: “Looking at the basket of goods and services surveyed, food prices continued to be the biggest driver of inflation in April.” The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that consumer prices in April 2023 rose by 0.4% on March 2023.
Prices of energy products up 6.8% year on year
Energy product prices were 6.8% higher in April 2023 than in the same month a year earlier. Following a marked slowdown in March 2023 (+3.5%), the increase in energy product prices thus accelerated again, but still remained below the overall inflation rate. The year-on-year increase in energy prices has been below average since March 2023. This is mainly due to a base effect originating from last year's large price increases as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine. A particularly high increase, however, was again recorded for household energy prices (total) in April 2023 compared with April 2022 (+21.1%). Above-average increases were observed in natural gas prices (+33.8%) as well as in the prices of firewood, wood pellets and other solid fuels (+29.8%).
Consumers also had to pay significantly more than a year earlier for electricity (+15.4%) and district heating (+12.3%). Heating oil prices, in contrast, decreased substantially by 21.8%, and motor fuel prices went down by 9.4% from the previous year. On the whole, the development of energy prices is subject to many factors, such as the electricity, natural gas and district heating price brakes which have been effective since January 2023.
Food prices continue to drive inflation, increasing 17.2% year on year
April 2023 saw an above-average rise in food prices (+17.2%) from the same month a year earlier. Compared with the previous year, the increase in food prices slowed slightly, after a 22.3% increase was reported in March 2023. As in the previous months, however, higher prices were recorded for all food groups in April 2023, and in particular for dairy products (+34.8%), bread and cereals (+21.3%), fish, fish products and seafood (+19.7%), and sugar, jam, honey and other confectionery (+19.6%).
Inflation rate excluding energy and food at +5.8%
Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate stood at +7.2% in April 2023. Excluding energy and food prices, the inflation rate was significantly lower (+5.8%) and therefore demonstrates the enormous impact of food prices on overall inflation. At the same time, this rate clearly shows that inflation is high also in other product groups. The consumer price index excluding energy and food crossed the five-percent threshold already in December 2022 and has gone up further since the beginning of the year (January 2023: +5.6%; February 2023: +5.7%; March 2023: +5.8%).
Prices of goods up 9.3% on April 2022
The prices of goods (total) were up by 9.3% in April 2023 on the same month of the previous year. The price increase was particularly pronounced for non-durable consumer goods (+11.4%), which was mostly due to the rise in food prices. Consumers also had to pay significantly more for beer (+15.0%), non-durable consumer goods for personal care (+14.4%) and non-alcoholic beverages (+13.5%) The prices of consumer durables rose by 5.9% from April 2022, including, for instance, furniture and lighting equipment (+9.9%) and household appliances (+7.7%).
Service prices up 4.7% year on year
The prices of services (total) increased by 4.7% in April 2023 compared with the same month a year earlier. Net rents exclusive of heating expenses rose by 2.0%. Much more significant price increases were observed, for instance, for services regarding the maintenance and repair of dwellings (+14.8%), package holidays and services of social facilities (each + 10.4%). By contrast, the prices of telecommunications services declined by 1.0% year on year.
Prices up 0.4% from the previous month
Compared with March 2023, the consumer price index was up by 0.4% in April 2023. Price increases were recorded, for instance, for clothing (+1.8%) and overnight stays (+1.6%). Energy prices as a whole also went up (+0.7%), despite the price cap in particular on district heating (+3.3%). Motor fuel prices (total) climbed too (+1.6%, including supergrade petrol: +2.8%, as opposed to diesel fuel: -2.1%). Decreases were observed in the prices of heating oil (-3.1%) and natural gas (-0.3%) compared with the previous month. Households also had to pay slightly less for food in general (-0.8%) than in the preceding month. In this area, lower prices were recorded in particular for vegetables (-7.5%, including fresh vegetables: -10.0%), edible fats and oils (-3.0%, including sunflower oil, rapeseed oil and the like: -8.2%; butter: -3.6%).
Methodological notes:
Since the beginning of April, the "Germany ticket" has been available for purchase, but this does not impact on the April result. The ticket will not be taken into account in the consumer price index until May 2023, the month when it can be used for the first time. The current results are impacted mainly by the measures of the Federal Government's third relief package, which are aimed in particular at containing the increase in energy prices. For example, electricity, natural gas and district heating price caps were introduced in 2023, with retrospective effect from January 2023. An overview explaining the different relief measures and their impact on the consumer price index is available on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.
The consumer price index (CPI) and the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) differ in coverage and methodology. In contrast to the HICP, the CPI includes also household expenditure on owner-occupied housing, games of chance and broadcasting fees. In addition, the HICP product weights are updated annually. As the weight of housing is much smaller in the HICP basket, price increases in other product groups have a larger impact on the HICP than on the CPI. These differences (coverage, methodology and weighting) explain the in part considerable differences between the CPI and the HICP for Germany. Explanatory notes and a methodological paper which discusses this issue are provided on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.
Inflation Calculator informs about personal rate of inflation:
Consumers can use the Personal Inflation Calculator of the Federal Statistical Office to adapt their monthly consumption expenditure on individual product groups according to their own consumption patterns and to calculate their personal inflation rate. In addition, the Price Kaleidoscope gives an overview of the price trend and the weights of various products.
| Overall index / subindex | Weighting | Index 2020=100 | Change on the same period a year earlier | Change on the preceding month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in per mill | in per cent | |||
| 1: Results do not include operating costs. | ||||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 116.6 | 7.2 | 0.4 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 119.04 | 130.8 | 16.8 | -0.5 |
| Food | 104.69 | 132.1 | 17.2 | -0.8 |
| Meat and meat products | 22.16 | 126.1 | 10.5 | 0.4 |
| Fruit | 11.62 | 112.5 | 6.2 | -0.4 |
| Vegetables | 13.72 | 139.6 | 13.7 | -7.5 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 35.26 | 116.1 | 9.0 | 0.8 |
| Clothing and footwear | 42.25 | 108.0 | 5.2 | 1.6 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 259.25 | 114.5 | 6.4 | 0.2 |
| Actual net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 68.30 | 105.0 | 2.1 | 0.2 |
| Imputed rent | 104.13 | 104.3 | 2.0 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 43.44 | 157.1 | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| Electricity | 24.50 | 138.5 | 15.4 | -0.1 |
| Gas 1 | 6.07 | 203.0 | 33.8 | -0.3 |
| Heating oil 1 | 1.70 | 199.6 | -21.8 | -3.1 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 67.78 | 117.5 | 8.5 | 0.5 |
| Health | 55.49 | 104.6 | 3.4 | 0.4 |
| Transport | 138.22 | 124.6 | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Motor fuels | 30.46 | 146.9 | -9.4 | 1.6 |
| Supergrade petrol | 23.19 | 145.0 | -7.6 | 2.8 |
| Diesel fuel | 6.92 | 151.2 | -15.4 | -2.1 |
| Communication | 23.35 | 99.2 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| Recreation and culture | 104.23 | 112.8 | 6.6 | 0.4 |
| Package holidays | 13.22 | 118.3 | 10.4 | 1.4 |
| Education | 9.06 | 108.3 | 3.9 | 0.1 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 47.20 | 118.3 | 9.8 | 0.6 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 98.87 | 111.8 | 6.6 | 0.4 |
More information:
Detailed results can be found in the tables on the consumer price index (61111-0004) and (61111-0006) and on the harmonised index of consumer prices (61121-0002) and (61121-0006) in the GENESIS-Online database. The table "Verbraucherpreisindex – Preisentwicklung für Nahrungsmittel" (only in German) contains information on changes in the prices of individual food products.
Consumer price index results are also available in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool (Pulsmesser Wirtschaft) (only in German), which can be used for real-time monitoring of the economic development.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related sanctions are having an impact on many parts of the economy and society. Relevant data and information are provided on a special webpage (www.destatis.de/ukraine).
