Press release No. 137 of 5 April 2024
Import prices, February 2024
-4.9% on the same month a year earlier
-0.2% on the previous month
Export prices, February 2024
-1.1% on the same month a year earlier
0.2% on the previous month
WIESBADEN – Import prices were 4.9% lower in February 2024 compared with February 2023. The year-on-year rate of change was -5.9% in January 2024, and -7.0% in December 2023. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that import prices in February 2024 fell by 0.2% on January 2024.
Export prices in February 2024 were 1.1% lower than in February 2023. The year-on-year rate of change was -1.3% in January 2024, and -1.4% in December 2023. Compared with January 2024, export prices were up 0.2% in February 2024.
Drop in import prices compared with February 2023 due to lower energy prices
Energy imports in February 2024 cost 20.7% less than in February 2023 and were 2.6% less expensive than in January 2024. Natural gas had the biggest influence on the year-on-year rate of change for energy, with prices in February 2024 40.4% lower than they were in February 2023.
All other imported energy sources were also less expensive than in the same month a year earlier: compared with February 2023, the prices of electricity were down 52.0%, and the prices of hard coal were down 23.8%. Mineral oil product prices were 3.4% lower and crude oil was 1.3% less expensive than a year earlier.
Compared with January 2024, the prices of electricity (-18.8%) and natural gas (-12.2%) declined whereas mineral oil products (+5.6%), crude oil (+1.9%) and hard coal (+1.3%) were more expensive.
When energy prices are excluded, import prices in February 2024 were 2.7% lower than in February 2023. Compared with January 2024, they were up 0.1%. If only crude oil and mineral oil products are not considered, the import price index was 5.1% below the level of the previous year (-0.5% compared with January 2024).
Lower prices for imported agricultural products and intermediate goods, higher prices for consumer and capital goods
In February 2024, imported agricultural products cost 7.5% less than in February 2023
(-1.9% on January 2024). Wheat prices, in particular, were markedly lower (-28.4%) than in February 2023. Green coffee was 10.6% less expensive than a year earlier. The price of raw cocoa continued to increase: it was up 108.7% on the previous year and 20.7% on the previous month. This was due to weather-related crop failures and increasing demand.
The prices of imported intermediate goods were 6.8% lower in February 2024 than in February 2023. Compared with January 2024, they were up slightly by 0.1%. Capital goods were 0.5% more expensive than a year earlier, and were up 0.2% on January 2024.
Consumer goods were up 0.3% on both the previous month and the same month of the previous year. While the prices of non-durable consumer goods also rose by 0.3% compared with the previous month and the same month of the previous year, the prices of durable consumer goods remained stable compared with February 2023. Compared with January 2024, they were up 0.2%. In the case of non-durable consumer goods, cocoa butter, fat and oil, in particular, cost almost twice as much (+99.8%) as in the same month a year earlier. Prices here were up 25.2% compared with January 2024.
Decline in prices for exports of energy, agricultural products and intermediate goods
Energy export prices were 22.7% lower in February 2024 than a year earlier (-0.9% on January 2024). As with import prices, the drop in natural gas prices (-35.9%) was the main reason for the year-on-year decline in energy export prices. The price of natural gas was down 3.6% from the previous month. Mineral oil products also continued to cost less than a year earlier (-0.8%). Compared with January 2024, they were significantly more expensive, however (+4.3%).
The export prices of agricultural products were 10.3% lower than a year before (-1.4% compared with January 2024). Exports of intermediate goods were 4.1% less expensive than in February 2023 (+0.2% on January 2024).
By contrast, capital goods were exported at prices which were 2.7% higher than a year earlier. The prices of exported consumer goods were also up compared with the previous year (+0.8%).
More information:
All current results are also provided in the statistical reports on the statistics of import and export prices. Long time series are also available in the tables on the index of import prices (61411-0002 and 61411-0006) and index of export prices (61421-0002 and 61421-0006) in the GENESIS-Online database. The provision of results for the period before 2021 will be delayed due to the rebasing.
Import price indices are also available on Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.
