Press release No. 272 of 11 August 2017
WIESBADEN – Consumer prices in Germany rose by 1.7% in July 2017 compared with July 2016. The inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index increased slightly for the second consecutive month. A somewhat higher rate than in July 2017 was last measured in April (+2.0%). Compared with June 2017, the consumer price index rose by 0.4% in July 2017. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) thus confirms its provisional overall results of 28 July 2017.
Energy prices were up by 0.9% in July 2017 year on year. The rise in energy prices was thus considerably smaller than the overall rise in prices. In June 2017, Energy prices had still been on the level of June 2016. In July 2017, prices were up year on year especially for mineral oil products (+2.0%, of which heating oil: +5.4%; motor fuels: +1.3%) and electricity (+1.9%). Gas prices, in contrast, were down by 3.2%.
Food prices rose 2.7% from July 2016 to July 2017. In June 2017, food prices had been up by 2.8% year on year. This means that the rise in food prices remained on a notably higher level than overall inflation in July 2017. Prices were up on a year earlier in particular for edible fats and oils (+29.2%), especially butter (+64.0%) was much more expensive in July 2017. Consumers had to pay markedly more (+14.0%) for all dairy products, too. Price increases were also recorded for fish and fish products (+3.2%) and for meat and meat products (+2.4%). In contrast to that, especially fruit prices went down year on year (-6.0%). Excluding food and energy prices, the inflation rate would have been +1.7% in July 2017.
The prices of both goods and services rose 1.7% from July 2016 to July 2017. Goods prices were markedly up on the previous year not only for many food products and some energy products but also, for example, for newspapers and periodicals (+4.8%), tobacco products (+4.5%) and pharmaceutical products (+2.7%).
The increase in service prices was important for the development of net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.8% on July 2016) as households spend a large part of their consumption expenditure on this item. Even larger price increases were observed, for instance, for package holidays (+4.3%), maintenance and repair of vehicles (+3.2%) and catering services (+2.0%). However, the prices of some services were down, especially for services of social facilities (–7.2%); this was 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 July 2017 on June 2017
Compared with June 2017, the consumer price index rose by 0.4% in July 2017. In the holiday month of July, prices were up especially for package holidays (+14.7%, of which international holidays: +15.4%; domestic holidays: +5.7%) and air tickets (+7.4%). The prices of food (total) also increased slightly (0.3%). Prices of edible fats and oils were again notably higher (+7.4%; June 2017: +4.9% on May 2017). Consumers noted a particularly strong increase of butter prices, which were up 14.2% from June 2017. As regards food, prices were down especially for vegetables (–1.6%, including butterhead lettuce and iceberg salad: –11.2%, tomatoes: –5.4%).
Total energy prices were up 0.3% in July 2017 on the previous month. Specifically, there were lower prices of motor fuels (–0.9%) and gas (–0.4%), for instance, in contrast to higher prices of heating oil (+0.6%) and electricity (+0.2%). Slight month-on-month price decreases that benefitted consumers were also observed for clothing (–4.3%) and footwear (–2.8%). This development was mainly due to seasonal price reductions for some summer articles.
| 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 | |||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 109.4 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 102.71 | 115.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| Food | 90.52 | 116.1 | 2.7 | 0.3 |
| Meat | 20.76 | 115.7 | 2.4 | 0.7 |
| Fruit | 8.76 | 128.0 | –0.6 | –0.5 |
| Vegetables | 11.26 | 104.8 | –6.0 | –1.4 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.59 | 119.7 | 2.8 | 0.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 44.93 | 103.3 | 1.4 | –3.7 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 317.29 | 109.5 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 209.93 | 109.8 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 68.19 | 108.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Electricity | 26.21 | 128.0 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
| Gas | 14.46 | 103.2 | –3.2 | –0.4 |
| Heating oil | 11.11 | 80.4 | 5.4 | 0.6 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and so on | 49.78 | 104.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Health | 44.44 | 107.2 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| Transport | 134.73 | 107.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 |
| Motor fuels | 38.37 | 93.2 | 1.3 | –0.9 |
| Supergrade petrol | 28.38 | 94.1 | 1.2 | –1.1 |
| Diesel fuel | 9.19 | 90.9 | 1.1 | –0.1 |
| Communication | 30.10 | 89.5 | –0.8 | –0.2 |
| Recreation and culture | 114.92 | 111.6 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| Package holidays | 26.83 | 125.0 | 4.3 | 14.7 |
| Education | 8.80 | 95.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 44.67 | 116.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 70.04 | 109.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding food and energy | 802.92 | 109.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 893.44 | 110.1 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 950.52 | 110.4 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Goods | 479.77 | 108.0 | 1.7 | –0.3 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 307.89 | 111.0 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Energy | 106.56 | 103.0 | 0.9 | –0.3 |
| Services | 520.23 | 110.7 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| 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 | 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 | |
| May | 108.8 | 1.5 | –0.2 | |
| June | 109.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | |
| July | 109.4 | 1.7 | 0.4 | |
Harmonised index of consumer prices for Germany
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated for European purposes, rose by 1.5% in July 2017 on July 2016. Compared with June 2017, the index was up by 0.4% in July 2017. This confirmed the HICP estimates of 28 July 2017.
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).