Press release No. 196 of 11 May 2022
Consumer price index, April 2022
+7.4% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+0.8% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, April 2022
+7.8% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+0.7% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
WIESBADEN − The inflation rate in Germany, measured as the year-on-year change in the consumer price index (CPI), stood at +7.4% in April 2022. “The inflation rate thus reached an all-time high for the second month in a row since German reunification”, said Dr. Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). In March 2022, the inflation rate jumped to 7.3%, the main reason being the development of energy product prices. What stands out in April 2022 is the above-average increases in food prices. This is where the impact of the war in Ukraine is becoming more and more visible. The Federal Statistical Office also reports that consumer prices were up 0.8% on March 2022.
The situation of war and crisis affects inflation rate
Energy prices, in particular, have increased considerably since the war started in Ukraine and have had a substantial impact on the inflation rate. A similarly high inflation rate was last recorded in the former territory of the Federal Republic in autumn 1981 when mineral oil prices had sharply increased, too, as a consequence of the first Gulf war between Iraq and Iran. Additional factors are delivery bottlenecks due to interruptions in supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the marked price increases at upstream stages in the economic process. Price increases accelerated for consumers not only regarding energy products but also other product groups such as food as a consequence of the situation of war and crisis.
Energy prices rose substantially by 35.3% year on year
The prices of goods (total) increased by 12.2% between April 2021 and April 2022. Energy product prices in April 2022 were by 35.3% higher than in the same month a year earlier, following a 39.5% increase in March 2022. Prices of heating oil (+98.6%) nearly doubled in April 2022, and marked price rises were also recorded for motor fuels (+38.5%) and natural gas (+47.5%).The price increases for the other energy products were markedly above the overall inflation rate, too, for example the prices of solid fuels (+23.9%) and of electricity (+19.3%). The price increase for energy products was due to several factors. In addition to the war- and crisis-related effects, the increase in the CO2 charge from 25 euros to 30 euros per tonne of CO2 had an impact here.
Above-average 8.6% increase in food prices compared with a year earlier
Food prices rose considerably (+8.6%) for households in April 2022 year on year. The price increase thus accelerated markedly (March 2022: +6.2%). Higher prices were recorded for all food groups. Considerable price rises were recorded for edible fats and oils (+27.3%), meat and meat products (+11.8%), dairy products and eggs (+9.4%) and fresh vegetables (+9.3%). Prices were up not only for energy and food but also for other products such as vehicles (+8.9%) and information processing equipment (+8.0%). The prices of non-durable consumer goods (total) increased by 16.0% and those of durable consumer goods by 5.2% on April 2021.
Inflation rate excluding energy at +4.3%
Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate stood at +4.3% in April 2022. To what extent food prices currently affect the overall rate of price increase is shown by the inflation rate when energy and food are excluded. It stood at +3.8%, which is just about half the overall inflation rate.
Service prices up 3.2% year on year
The prices of services (total) increased by 3.2% in April 2022 compared with the same month a year earlier. Net rents exclusive of heating expenses, which are important as they account for a large part of household consumption expenditure, rose by 1.6% and thus had a downward effect on the overall inflation rate. Price decreases were also observed for telecommunications (-1.1%) and for services of social facilities (-2.6%), the latter being due to the implementation of the long-term care reform adopted in June 2021. However, the prices of some services rose markedly, including maintenance and repair of dwellings and residential buildings (+12.2%) and of vehicles (+6.1%).
Month-on-month price increase of 0.8%; food prices up 3.6%
Compared with March 2022, the consumer price index was up by 0.8% in April 2022. In particular food prices were noticeably higher (+3.6%), in addition to the seasonal price increases observed for package holidays (+17.6%). Consumers had to pay more especially for edible fats and oils (+10.2%)and meat and meat products (+7.1%). The price increases were countered by lower prices of energy products. Energy prices as a whole declined by 3.1% from the previous month, and substantial price decreases were observed for heating oil (-20.3%) and motor fuels (-5.7%).
Inflation Calculator informs about personal rate of inflation:
Consumers can use the Personal Inflation Calculator of the Federal Statistical Office to adapt their monthly consumption expenditure on individual product groups according to their own consumption patterns and to calculate their personal inflation rate.
Methodological notes:
The measures taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic hardly affected monthly price collection any longer. More information is contained in a methodological paper. The associated quality requirements were met and isolated results of reduced quality are marked. For the time being, year-on-year rates of change continue to be affected.
The Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences for public life also require a changed approach to the annual updating of the product weights used in the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP). Another methodological paperwhich discusses this issue is provided on the website of the Federal Statistical Office. The updating of the HICP product weights explains a considerable part of the difference between the CPI and the HICP for Germany.
| 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. ( ) Limited informational value due to somewhat limited statistical reliability as imputation rates are high (over 50%). | ||||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 116.2 | 7.4 | 0.8 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 96.85 | 122.7 | 8.0 | 3.3 |
| Food | 84.87 | 124.2 | 8.6 | 3.6 |
| Meat and meat products | 18.60 | 130.8 | 11.8 | 7.1 |
| Fruit | 8.88 | 119.5 | 3.0 | 0.8 |
| Vegetables | 11.08 | 133.1 | 9.0 | 3.5 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.77 | 120.7 | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| Clothing and footwear | 45.34 | 107.1 | 3.4 | 1.2 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 324.70 | 116.4 | 8.5 | -0.2 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 196.32 | 109.9 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 68.82 | 137.2 | 33.6 | -1.6 |
| Electricity | 25.92 | 132.4 | 19.3 | 1.3 |
| Gas 1 | 13.53 | 146.3 | 47.5 | 3.9 |
| Heating oil 1 | 7.01 | 215.7 | 98.6 | -20.3 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 50.04 | 110.5 | 5.6 | 1.0 |
| Health | 46.13 | 106.6 | 0.8 | -0.1 |
| Transport | 129.05 | 128.5 | 15.6 | -1.1 |
| Motor fuels | 35.01 | 153.3 | 38.5 | -5.7 |
| Supergrade petrol | 25.66 | 146.0 | 33.2 | -5.6 |
| Diesel fuel | 8.64 | 172.4 | 51.9 | -7.3 |
| Communication | 26.72 | 94.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Recreation and culture | 113.36 | 110.9 | 6.1 | 4.1 |
| Package holidays | 26.62 | 109.4 | (14.4) | 17.6 |
| Education | 9.02 | 105.7 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 46.77 | 120.2 | (6.5) | 1.2 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 74.25 | 113.3 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
More information:
More information on consumer price statistics is contained in Fachserie 17, Reihe 7 "Verbraucherpreise für Deutschland". Detailed results can also be found in the tables on the consumer price index (61111-0004) and (61111-0006) and on the harmonised index of consumer prices (61121-0002) and (61121-0004) in the GENESIS-Online database. The table "Verbraucherpreisindex – Preisentwicklung für Nahrungsmittel" contains information on changes in the prices of individual food products.
The consumer price index results are available on the Corona statistics webpage (www.destatis.de/corona) of the Federal Statistical Office and in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de), together with other indicators which can be used to assess the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dashboard Germany portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators of official statistics and indicators of other data providers on the topics of economy and finance as well as health and mobility.
The CPI also forms part of the Crisis Monitor (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), by means of which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the Covid-19 crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009.
The Russian attack on Ukraine and the relevant sanctions against Russia have had a strong impact on the economy and population and in particular on the energy sector. Data and information on the areas affected are provided on a special webpage (www.destatis.de/ukraine).
