Press release No. 245 of 14 June 2022
Consumer price index, May 2022
+7.9% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+0.9% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, May 2022
+8.7% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
+1.1% 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 +7.9% in May 2022. “The inflation rate thus reached an all-time high for the third month in a row since German reunification. The main reason for the high inflation still is price rises for energy products. But we also see price increases for many other goods, especially food”, said Dr. Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). “A similarly high inflation rate was last recorded in the former territory of the Federal Republic in winter 1973/1974 when mineral oil prices had sharply increased as a consequence of the first oil crisis”, Thiel said. In March 2022, the inflation rate had stood at +7.3% and in April 2022 at +7.4%. The Federal Statistical Office also reports that consumer prices in May 2022 were up 0.9% on April 2022.
The situation of war and crisis continues to affect inflation rate
The increase in energy prices observed already before the war in Ukraine has markedly accelerated since war started and it has a substantial impact on the inflation rate. Additional factors are delivery bottlenecks due to interruptions in supply chains, also caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and marked price increases at upstream stages in the economic process. Price increases accelerated for consumers not only regarding energy products but also other products, such as many food products again, as a consequence of the situation of war and crisis.
Energy prices rise substantially by 38.3% year on year
Energy product prices in May 2022 were by 38.3% higher than in the same month a year earlier, following a +35.3% increase in April 2022. The prices of heating oil almost doubled (+94.8%) in May 2022. Natural gas prices (+55.2%) and motor fuel prices (+41.0%) increased considerably. The price rises for the other energy products were markedly above the overall inflation rate, too, for example the prices of solid fuels (+33.4%) and of electricity (+21.5%). 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, that became effective at the beginning of the year, had an impact here.
Above-average 11.1% increase in food prices compared with a year earlier
Food prices rose by 11.1% for households in May 2022 year on year. The price increase thus accelerated markedly again, following an 8.6% rise in April 2022. Price rises were recorded for all food groups. Prices of edible fats and oils rose substantially (+38.7%). Two-digit rates of price increase were also observed for meat and meat products (+16.5%), dairy products and eggs (+13.1%) as well as bread and cereals (+10.8%).
Prices of goods up 13.6% on May 2021
The prices of goods (total) were up 13.6% in May 2022 year on year. Marked price increases were recorded not only for energy and food but also for other goods such as vehicles(+9.1%), information processing equipment (+8.0%) as well as furniture and lighting equipment (+7.4%). The prices of non-durable consumer goods (total), also referred to as convenience goods, increased markedly by 17.9%. Prices of durable consumer goods were up 5.5% on the same month of the previous year.
Inflation rate excluding energy and food at +3.8%
Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate stood at +4.5% in May 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 not even half the overall inflation rate. At the same time, the remaining high inflation rate illustrates that prices are up in almost all sectors.
Service prices up 2.9% year on year
The prices of services (total) were up 2.9% in May 2022 on the same month of the previous year. Net rents exclusive of heating expenses, which are important as they account for a large part of household final consumption expenditure, rose by 1.7% (April 2022: +1.6%). Price decreases were observed for telecommunications (-0.9%) and for services of social facilities (-2.5%), the latter being due to the implementation of the long-term care reform adopted in June 2021. In all, however, the prices of most services went up, including the maintenance and repair of dwellings and residential buildings (+12.1%) and of vehicles (+6.1%).
Month-on-month price increase of 0.9%; considerably higher food and energy prices
Compared with April 2022, the consumer price index was up by 0.9% in May 2022. Consumers saw price increases in nearly all product groups. Energy prices as a whole rose by 2.8%. Higher prices were recorded for both household energy (+2.8%, including natural gas: +5.3%; electricity: +2.0%; heating oil: +1.9%) and motor fuels (+2.7%). Households had to pay an average 2.1% more for food, in particular edible fats and oils (+9.9%), meat and meat products (+4.4%) and dairy products (+4.2%). These price increases were accompanied by only a few decreases, especially for vegetables (-4.7%, including tomatoes: -25.5%; cucumbers: -19.0%).
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 paper which 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 | 117.3 | 7.9 | 0.9 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 96.85 | 125.3 | 10.7 | 2.1 |
| Food | 84.87 | 126.8 | 11.1 | 2.1 |
| Meat and meat products | 18.60 | 136.5 | 16.5 | 4.4 |
| Fruit | 8.88 | 119.4 | 2.1 | -0.1 |
| Vegetables | 11.08 | 126.8 | 7.5 | -4.7 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 37.77 | 121.4 | 3.9 | 0.6 |
| Clothing and footwear | 45.34 | 107.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 324.70 | 117.4 | 9.2 | 0.9 |
| Net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 196.32 | 110.2 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| Household energy | 68.82 | 141.0 | 36.8 | 2.8 |
| Electricity | 25.92 | 135.0 | 21.5 | 2.0 |
| Gas 1 | 13.53 | 154.1 | 55.2 | 5.3 |
| Heating oil 1 | 7.01 | 219.9 | 94.8 | 1.9 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 50.04 | 111.6 | 6.8 | 1.0 |
| Health | 46.13 | 107.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Transport | 129.05 | 130.0 | 16.3 | 1.2 |
| Motor fuels | 35.01 | 157.5 | 41.0 | 2.7 |
| Supergrade petrol | 25.66 | 150.9 | 36.6 | 3.4 |
| Diesel fuel | 8.64 | 175.0 | 52.0 | 1.5 |
| Communication | 26.72 | 94.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Recreation and culture | 113.36 | 111.4 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
| Package holidays | 26.62 | 109.4 | (5.2) | 0.0 |
| Education | 9.02 | 105.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 46.77 | 121.7 | (7.2) | 1.2 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 74.25 | 113.9 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
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 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).
