Press release No. 374 of 30 September 2024

Import prices, August 2024
+0.2% on the same month a year earlier
-0.4% on the previous month 

Export prices, August 2024
+0.8% on the same month a year earlier
0.0% on the previous month 

WIESBADEN – Import prices were 0.2% higher in August 2024 than in August 2023. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the rate of change was +0.9% in July 2024, and +0.7% in June 2024. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that import prices in August 2024 were down 0.4% on July 2024.

Export prices in August 2024 were 0.8% higher than in August 2023. The year-on-year rate of change was +0.8% in July 2024, too, and +0.6% in June 2024. Export prices remained unchanged from July 2024.

Increase in import prices compared with August 2023 due to higher prices particularly for consumer goods

The increase in the prices of consumer goods (+2.4%) compared with the same month of the previous year had the biggest impact on the overall development of import prices in August 2024. Imports of non-durables, in particular, became more expensive (+2.7% on August 2023). Durable consumer goods cost 1.2% more than a year earlier.

In the case of non-durable consumer goods, the prices of cocoa butter, fat and oil, in particular, were still markedly higher (+122.7%) than in August 2023. Compared with July 2024, prices here were down 4.0%.

Overall, imported food was 5.1% more expensive than in the previous year (+0.5% compared with July 2024). 

Higher prices also for agricultural products

The prices of agricultural products were up 5.5% on the previous year. Raw cocoa, in particular, was much more expensive than a year earlier (+130.3%) but cost 5.1% less compared with the previous month. The prices of green coffee were 33.4% higher than in August 2023, and were also up on July 2024 (+5.2%). By contrast, the prices of onions (-33.7%), peppers (-22.4%) and live pigs (-16.2%), for example, were down from the previous year. 

Intermediate goods prices unchanged, capital goods prices slightly up

The prices of intermediate goods did not change year on year. Compared with the previous month, intermediate goods prices were down 0.6%. Capital goods prices increased by 0.1% both year on year and from July 2024.

A number of goods in the intermediate goods category were less expensive than a year earlier, including starch and starch products (-24.7%), batteries and accumulators (-5.3%) and basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys (-3.4%), whereas lignin and pulp cost +21.5% more and non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous semi-finished metal products were +6.0% more expensive.

In the case of capital goods, the prices of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, for example, were up 2.6%, whereas imports of computers and peripheral equipment cost 4.6% less. 

Decline in energy import prices

The prices of energy imports decreased by 5.4% compared with August 2023. Mineral oil products had the biggest influence on the year-on-year rate of change for energy, with prices in August 2024 12.8% lower than they were in August 2023. Compared with July 2024, prices dropped by 4.8%. Year-on-year declines were also registered for the prices of electricity (-13.0%), crude oil (-3.0%) and natural gas (-1.7%). Compared with July 2024, however, electricity prices increased by 20.9% and those of natural gas by 2.6%. By contrast, crude oil was 5.1% less expensive than in the previous month.

When energy prices are excluded, import prices in August 2024 were 0.9% higher than in August 2023. Compared with July 2024, they were down 0.2%. If only crude oil and mineral oil products are not considered, the import price index was 0.7% above the level of the previous year (0.0% compared with July 2024). 

Price increases for exports of capital and consumer goods

In the case of exports, the increase in the prices of intermediate goods had the biggest influence on the development of prices, with the prices of such goods up 1.6% on August 2023 (-0.1% compared with July 2024). The year-on-year price increases for motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (+2.0%) and machinery (+1.9%) played a key role here.

Compared with August 2023, the prices of consumer goods were up 2.3%. While durable consumer goods were only 0.9% more expensive year on year, the prices of exported non-durable consumer goods were 2.7% higher than in August 2023.

The 15.2% decline in the price of energy exports compared with the previous year (0.0% on July 2024) was unable to offset the rise in the prices of exported capital and consumer goods. By contrast, natural gas (-17.0%), mineral oil products (-14.5%) and electricity (-13.0%) were considerably less expensive than in the same month a year earlier. While the prices of mineral oil products declined by 5.3% month on month, exports of natural gas and electricity were more expensive compared with July 2024 (+2.7% and +20.9%, respectively).

The export prices of agricultural products were also down in comparison (-1.2% on August 2023 and -2.4% on July 2024).

By contrast, the prices of exported intermediate goods increased slightly, on average (+0.3%). Compared with the previous month, they decreased slightly by 0.2%.

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 of the indices.

Import price indices are also available on Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.

Important information regarding the GENESIS-Online database:

Our database's new user interface will leave the beta phase and go online in the second half of October 2024. The new interface will offer faster data retrieval and intuitive table search and customisation options. There will also be changes to the structure of the machine-readable flat file (CSV) format and the data output format for table downloads. For further details and other important information on the release, please see the info page of the new GENESIS-Online database.