Press release No. 156 of 12 May 2017
WIESBADEN – Consumer prices in Germany were 2.0% higher in April 2017 than in April 2016. The inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index is on the rise again (March 2017: +1.6%; February 2017: +2.2%). Compared with March 2017, the consumer price index remained unchanged in April 2017. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) thus confirms its provisional overall results of 27 April 2017.
As in the months before, the inflation rate of April 2017 was mainly influenced by the development of energy prices. The month-on-month price increase (+5.1%) was at the level of March 2017. Prices of mineral oil products, in particular, went up considerably (+14.3%, of which heating oil: +30.1% and motor fuels: +10.6%). The annual rates of price increase showed diverging trends for the other types of household energy. Electricity prices, for example, were up by 1.1%, while gas prices were down by 3.4%. Excluding the prices of all types of energy, the inflation rate would have been +1.7% in April 2017; excluding the prices of mineral oil products, it would have been only +1.4%.
Food prices were higher in April 2017 (+1.8%) than in April 2016, but the rise in food prices continued to slow down year-on-year for the second consecutive month (March 2017: +2.3%; February 2017: +4.4%). A considerable year-on-year increase in prices was recorded especially for edible fats and oils (+15.8%, including butter: +34.2%) in April 2017. Consumers also had to pay more for dairy products (+5.0%), fish and fish products (+3.8%), fruit (+2.5%) and meat and meat products (+1.9%) than in April 2016.
The inflation rate of April 2017 was also influenced by the marked increase in package holiday prices (+10.5%). This is mainly due to a calendar effect caused by last year's early Easter (2017: mid-April; 2016: end of March).
The prices of goods (total) rose by 2.2% in April 2017 compared with April 2016, the main reason being the increase in energy prices. Significant year-on-year price increases were also recorded for other goods such as jewellery, clocks and watches (+4.8%), games, toys and hobbies (+4.5%), tobacco products (+4.0%) and pharmaceutical products (+3.3%). Price decreases were recorded, among others, for consumer electronics (–4.9%).
Compared with goods prices, the prices of services (total) rose more moderately (+1.7%) on a year earlier. In addition to higher package holiday prices, this rise in prices was mainly due to the increase in net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.7% from April 2016) for which households spend large part of their consumption expenditure. Slightly larger price increases were also observed, for example, for insurance services (+2.3%) and catering services (+1.8%). Marked price decreases were recorded for services of social facilities (–6.6%) 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 April 2017 on March 2017
The consumer price index remained unchanged in April 2017 compared with March 2017. The prices of energy (total) were up slightly by 0.9% on a month earlier. The prices of heating oil (+2.9%) and motor fuels (+1.9%), in particular, went up in this category. Mention should also be made of price increases in air passenger transport (+3.7%) and regarding tobacco products (+2.1%). Consumers paid less, however, for coffee, tea and cocoa (–1.1%) and for gardens, plants and flowers (–0.8%).
Food prices were down slightly from March 2017 (–0.3%). Price reductions were observed for vegetables (–2.6%), confectionery (–0.9%), fruit (–0.5%) as well as edible fats and oils (–0.3%).
| 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 April cannot be interpreted as a pure price movement. | ||||
| Overall index | 1.000.00 | 109.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 102.71 | 115.6 | 1.7 | –0.3 |
| Food | 90.52 | 115.9 | 1.8 | –0.3 |
| Meat | 20.76 | 114.6 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| Fruit | 8.76 | 128.4 | 2.5 | –0.5 |
| Vegetables | 11.26 | 114.4 | –0.8 | –2.6 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.59 | 118.0 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| Clothing and footwear | 44.93 | 111.7 | 1.4 | 0.4 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 317.29 | 109.5 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 209.93 | 109.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Household energy | 68.19 | 109.9 | 2.4 | 0.4 |
| Electricity | 26.21 | 127.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| Gas | 14.46 | 103.8 | –3.4 | –0.3 |
| Heating oil | 11.11 | 89.9 | 30.1 | 2.9 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and so on | 49.78 | 104.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Health | 44.44 | 106.9 | 2.0 | 0.2 |
| Transport | 134.73 | 107.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| Motor fuels | 38.37 | 97.8 | 10.6 | 1.9 |
| Supergrade petrol | 28.38 | 98.5 | 9.3 | 2.2 |
| Diesel fuel | 9.19 | 96.1 | 15.1 | 0.6 |
| Communication | 30.10 | 89.8 | –0.9 | –0.1 |
| Recreation and culture | 114.92 | 105.4 | 3.3 | –2.0 |
| Package holidays | 26.83 | 99.3 | 10.5 | –9.1 a |
| Education | 8.80 | 95.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 44.67 | 114.8 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 70.04 | 109.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 950.52 | 109.6 | 1.4 | –0.1 |
| Excluding household energy | 931.81 | 108.9 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 893.44 | 109.4 | 1.7 | –0.1 |
| Goods | 479.77 | 109.1 | 2.2 | 0.3 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 307.89 | 111.6 | 2.9 | 0.4 |
| Energy | 106.56 | 105.6 | 5.1 | 0.9 |
| Services | 520.23 | 108.8 | 1.7 | –0.3 |
| 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 | April | 106.9 | –0.1 | –0.4 |
| 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 | |
Harmonised index of consumer prices for Germany
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated for European purposes, rose by 2.0% in April 2017 on April 2016. Thus the index again reached the two-percent threshold in Germany, which is important for the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (March 2017: +1.5%). The index remained unchanged in April 2017 compared with March 2017. This confirmed the HICP estimates of 27 April 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).