Press release No. 477 of 12 December 2019
Consumer price index, November 2019
+1.1% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
-0.8% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, November 2019
+1.2% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
-0.8% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
WIESBADEN – Consumer prices in Germany were up 1.1% in November 2019 compared with November 2018. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the inflation rate - as measured by the consumer price index - had stood at +1.1% in October 2019, too. Compared with October 2019, consumer prices decreased markedly by 0.8% in November 2019.
Energy product prices fell 3.7% from November 2018 to November 2019. This was an even larger decline in energy prices than in the months before (October 2019: -2.1%; September 2019: -1.1%). Especially the price development of mineral oil products had a downward effect on the inflation rate in November 2019. There were substantial price decreases for both heating oil (-21.9%) and motor fuels (-10.3%). However, the prices of some energy products were considerably higher than a year earlier (for example natural gas: +5.1%; electricity: +3.9%). Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate would have been +1.6% in November 2019; excluding the prices of mineral oil products, it would have been +1.7%.
There was an above-average increase in food prices of 1.8% in November 2019 year on year. Higher prices than a year earlier were recorded, among others, for meat and meat products (+4.6%), fruit (+4.0%) and for fish, fish products and seafood (+3.5%). In contrast, the prices of edible fats and oils fell substantially (-8.3%).
The prices of goods (total) were only 0.1% higher in November 2019 than in the same month a year earlier. In addition to food (+1.8%), higher prices were observed for newspapers and periodicals (+5.0%) and tobacco products (+4.3%), for example. There were price decreases not only for mineral oil products (-12.6%) but also for information processing equipment (-6.7%), telephones (-5.5%) and consumer electronics (-4.8%).
Service prices rose much more (+1.8%) than goods prices (+0.1%) from November 2018 to November 2019. A major factor contributing to the development of service prices was the increase in net rents exclusive of heating expenses (+1.4%), as households spend a large part of their consumption expenditure on this item. Even higher price increases were observed for some services, for example services of social facilities (+5.2%), maintenance and repair of vehicles (+4.9%), and catering services in restaurants, cafes and the like (+3.0%). Prices of telecommunication services, for example, were down (-0.5%).
Change in November 2019 on October 2019
Compared with October 2019, the consumer price index fell by 0.8% in November 2019. A major reason for the decrease were the seasonally lower package holidays prices (-28.1%). Prices of energy (total) fell slightly by 0.1%.
Food prices (total) were up 0.5% in November 2019 month on month. Higher prices than in October 2019 were observed for food (+1.9%) and edible fats and oils (+1.5%), for example.
| Overall index / subindex | Weighting | Index 2015 = 100 | Change on the same period a year earlier | Change on the preceding month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in per mill | in per cent | |||
| 1: Results do not include charges. | ||||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 105.3 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 96.85 | 107.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Food | 84.87 | 108.2 | 1.8 | 0.5 |
| Meat | 18.60 | 109.6 | 4.6 | 0.3 |
| Fruit | 8.88 | 108.3 | 4.0 | -0.8 |
| Vegetables | 11.08 | 106.7 | 0.5 | 1.9 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.77 | 111.8 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| Clothing and footwear | 45.34 | 106.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 324.70 | 105.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 196.32 | 106.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 68.82 | 102.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Electricity | 25.92 | 107.4 | 3.9 | 0.1 |
| Gas 1 | 13.53 | 96.6 | 5.1 | 0.1 |
| Heating oil 1 | 7.01 | 112.6 | -21.9 | -1.7 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 50.04 | 103.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| Health | 46.13 | 104.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| Transport | 129.05 | 106.6 | -1.3 | 0.1 |
| Motor fuels | 35.01 | 103.4 | -10.3 | -0.2 |
| Supergrade petrol | 25.66 | 101.9 | -9.6 | 0.0 |
| Diesel fuel | 8.64 | 108.5 | -12.4 | -0.4 |
| Communication | 26.72 | 95.8 | -0.4 | 0.0 |
| Recreation and culture | 113.36 | 99.2 | 0.6 | -7.2 |
| Package holidays | 26.62 | 83.8 | 1.7 | -28.1 |
| Education | 9.02 | 102.4 | -0.1 | 0.1 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 46.77 | 110.1 | 2.8 | -0.1 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 74.25 | 106.9 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| Overall index | ||||
| Excluding food and energy | 811.30 | 105.3 | 1.6 | -0.9 |
| Excluding energy (household energy and motor fuels) | 896.17 | 105.6 | 1.6 | -0.8 |
| Excluding heating oil and motor fuels | 957.98 | 105.3 | 1.7 | -0.8 |
| Goods | 468.16 | 105.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Non-durable consumer goods | 297.54 | 106.1 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| Energy | 103.83 | 102.9 | -3.7 | -0.1 |
| Services | 531.84 | 105.3 | 1.8 | -1.5 |
Harmonised index of consumer prices for Germany
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated for European purposes, was 1.2% higher in November 2019 than in November 2018. Compared with October 2019, the HICP fell by 0.8% in November 2019.
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).
