Press release No. 135 of 13 April 2018
Consumer price index, March 2018:
- +1.6% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
- +0.4% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, March 2018
- +1.5% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
- +0.4% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
WIESBADEN – Consumer prices in Germany were 1.6% higher in March 2018 than in March 2017. The inflation rate – measured by the consumer price index – thus increased slightly. In the three preceding months the rate of inflation had declined gradually. Compared with February 2018, the consumer price index rose by 0.4% in March 2018. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) thus confirms its provisional overall results of 29 March 2018.
The prices of energy products were up 0.5% year on year in March 2018. The rise in energy prices was thus considerably smaller than the overall rise in prices. In February 2018, the rate of energy price increase had been even lower at +0.1%. From March 2017 to March 2018, price rises were recorded especially for heating oil (+5.4%). The price of electricity (+1.5%) and charges for central and district heating (+0.8%) were also up on a year earlier. In contrast, price decreases were recorded in the same period for solid fuels (–1.6%), gas (–1.4%) and motor fuels (–0.7%). Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate in March 2018 would have been +1.6% as well.
Food prices rose 2.9% from March 2017 to March 2018. The year-on-year price increase thus accelerated in March 2018 (February 2018: +1.1%). Prices were up on a year earlier in particular for edible fats and oils (+14.9%), dairy products and eggs (+10.4%) and fruit (+7.4%) in March 2018. In contrast, there were price decreases for nearly all vegetables so that the prices of vegetables (total) were down 6.6%. As in February 2018, this decrease was due to the high vegetable prices a year ago.
The prices of goods (total) were up 1.4% in March 2018 compared with March 2017. In addition to the price increase recorded for food (+2.9%), some goods were markedly more expensive than a year earlier, in particular newspapers and periodicals (+4.8%), tobacco products (+4.5%) and beer (+3.5%). Prices were however down for consumer electronics (–3.9%) and information processing equipment (–3.5%).
Prices of services (total) rose by 1.8% in March 2018 on a year earlier; this price increase was larger than the one recorded for goods. A major factor contributing to the increase in service prices was the development of net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.6% on March 2017), as households spent a large part of their consumption expenditure on this item. Slightly larger year-on-year price increases were observed, for example, for maintenance and repair of vehicles (+3.2%), package holidays (+3.2%) and catering services in restaurants, cafes and the like (+2.2%). However, consumers benefited for instance from lower prices of telecommunication services (–0.7%).
Change in March 2018 on February 2018
Compared with February 2018, the consumer price index rose by 0.4% in March 2018. In a month-on-month comparison, seasonal price rises were observed especially for clothing (+5.8%) and footwear (+4.4%). A major reason here was the changeover to the spring and summer collection. Marked month-on-month price increases were also recorded for package holidays (+2.0%) and air tickets (+1.5%), one reason being that Easter fell early this year.
In addition, food prices rose 0.2% in March 2018 compared with the previous month. Consumers paid more especially for edible fats and oils (+4.9%, including butter: +8.1%), fish and fish products (+1.1%). In contrast to that, the prices of vegetables went down slightly (–0.5%, including tomatoes: –1.6%; butterhead lettuce or iceberg salad:
–0.8%).
Falling energy prices (–0.6%), in particular, had a dampening effect on the price increase in March 2018, with a consumer-friendly decline in motor fuel prices (–2.1%, including supergrade petrol: –2.4%, diesel fuel: –1.3%). The development of household energy prices was not remarkable in comparison (+0.1%, including gas: –0.1%; electricity: +0.1%).
| Overall index ________ Year / Month | Index 2010 = 100 | Change on the same period a year earlier | Change on the previous month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in per cent | ||||
| A = annual average –= no figures or magnitude zero | ||||
| 2016 A | 107,4 | 0.5 | − | |
| 2017 A | 109,3 | 1.8 | − | |
| 2017 | 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 | |
| August | 109.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 | |
| September | 109.6 | 1.8 | 0.1 | |
| October | 109.6 | 1.6 | 0.0 | |
| November | 109.9 | 1.8 | 0.3 | |
| December | 110.6 | 1.7 | 0.6 | |
| 2018 | January | 109.8 | 1.6 | –0.7 |
| February | 110.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | |
| March | 110.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | |
| 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 | 110,7 | 1,6 | 0,4 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 102.71 | 119,3 | 2,8 | 0,3 |
| Food | 90.52 | 119,7 | 2,9 | 0,2 |
| Meat | 20.76 | 117,3 | 2,4 | – 0,3 |
| Fruit | 8.76 | 138,6 | 7,4 | 0,4 |
| Vegetables | 11.26 | 109,7 | – 6,6 | – 0,5 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.59 | 121,1 | 3,7 | 0,2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 44.93 | 110,9 | – 0,4 | 5,2 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 317.29 | 110,8 | 1,5 | 0,1 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 209.93 | 111,0 | 1,6 | 0,1 |
| Household energy | 68.19 | 110,8 | 1,2 | 0,1 |
| Electricity | 26.21 | 129,1 | 1,5 | 0,1 |
| Gas | 14.46 | 102,6 | – 1,4 | – 0,1 |
| Heating oil | 11.11 | 92,1 | 5,4 | 1,2 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and so on | 49.78 | 104,9 | 0,9 | 0,1 |
| Health | 44.44 | 108,0 | 1,2 | 0,2 |
| Transport | 134.73 | 108,5 | 1,2 | – 0,4 |
| Motor fuels | 38.37 | 95,3 | – 0,7 | – 2,1 |
| Supergrade petrol | 28.38 | 94,9 | – 1,6 | – 2,4 |
| Diesel fuel | 9.19 | 96,7 | 1,3 | – 1,3 |
| Communication | 30.10 | 89,5 | – 0,4 | 0,1 |
| Recreation and culture | 114.92 | 109,4 | 1,8 | 0,6 |
| Package holidays | 26.83 | 112,8 | 3,2 | 2,0 |
| Education | 8.80 | 97,9 | 2,8 | 0,1 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 44.67 | 117,2 | 2,3 | 0,3 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 70.04 | 110,3 | 1,3 | 0,4 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding food and energy | 802.92 | 110,4 | 1,6 | 0,5 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 893.44 | 111,3 | 1,6 | 0,5 |
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 950.52 | 111,5 | 1,6 | 0,5 |
| Goods | 479.77 | 110,3 | 1,4 | 0,5 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 307.89 | 113,4 | 2,0 | 0,0 |
| Energy | 106.56 | 105,2 | 0,5 | – 0,6 |
| Services | 520.23 | 111,1 | 1,8 | 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 March 2018 on March 2017. Compared with February 2018, the index was up 0.4% in March 2018. This confirmed the HICP estimates of 29 March 2018.
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).
