Press release No. 320 of 14 August 2023

Wholesale selling prices, July 2023
-2.8% on the same month a year earlier
-0.2% on the previous month

WIESBADEN – In July 2023, the selling prices in wholesale trade were 2.8% lower than in July 2022. The year-on-year rate of change was -2.9% in June 2023, and -2.6% in May 2023. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that wholesale prices were down 0.2% in July 2023 compared with the previous month.

Sharp decline in prices for mineral oil products and for waste and scrap

At -20.8%, the steep drop in prices in the wholesale of mineral oil products had the biggest impact on the overall development of wholesale prices in July 2023 compared with July 2022. Prices in this branch of economic activity rose 1.3%, however, compared with June 2023. Compared with the same month a year earlier, much lower prices were also reported in the wholesale of waste and scrap (-32.8%), grain, unmanufactured tobacco, seeds and animal feeds (-21.4%), metals and metal ores (-18.3%) and chemical products (-16.5%).

By contrast, the prices for live animals (+27.7%) and for fruit and vegetables (+27.5%) were higher than in July 2022. Electronic and telecommunications equipment and parts were 6.8% more expensive at the wholesale level than in the same month a year earlier, but were only 0.1% more expensive compared with June 2023.

Methodological notes:

The indices of wholesale selling prices will be rebased to 2021 as of reference month January 2024. First results for the new base year will be released in March 2024.

More information:

Long time series are available in the table on the index of wholesale selling prices (61281-0002 and 61281-0004) in the GENESIS-Online database. Detailed information on statistics of selling prices in wholesale trade is also provided in the statistical report (only in German), which replaces the previous Fachserie 17, Reihe 6 publication.

Wholesale selling prices are available on 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 the economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.