Press release No. 229 of 13 June 2024
Wholesale selling prices, May 2024
-0.7% on the same month a year earlier
+0.1% on the previous month
WIESBADEN – The selling prices in wholesale trade were 0.7% lower in May 2024 than in May 2023. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the rate of change was -1.8% in April 2024, and -2.6% in March. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that wholesale prices in May 2024 rose slightly by 0.1% on April 2024.
Lower prices for chemical products
Lower prices in the wholesale of chemical products (-13.9%) were the main reason for the year-on-year decrease in wholesale prices (total) in May 2024. Compared with April 2024, these prices dropped by 0.9%. Lower year-on-year wholesale prices were also recorded in particular for iron, steel and ferrous semi-finished metal products (-12.1%). Here prices fell by 0.5% compared with April 2024. Grain, unmanufactured tobacco, seeds and animal feeds (-5.1%) and milk, milk products, eggs, edible fats and oils (-5.1%) also cost less at the wholesale level than a year earlier. Compared with the previous month, however, the prices of grain, unmanufactured tobacco, seeds and animal feeds increased by 3.4%.
The wholesale prices of non-ferrous ores, non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous semi-finished metal products (+9.7%) and coffee, tea, cocoa and spices (+8.2%) were higher than in May 2023. In May 2024, sugar, confectionery and bakery products (+7.2%), fruit, vegetables and potatoes (+6.4%) and tobacco products (+5.4%) also were more expensive at the wholesale level than a year earlier.
More information:
The statistical report (only in German) on the index of wholesale selling prices also includes the latest results. Long time series are available in the tables on the index of wholesale selling prices (61281-0002 and 61281-0004) in the GENESIS-Online database.
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 (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
