Press release No. 218 of 20 May 2025
Producer prices of industrial products (domestic sales), May 2025
-1.2% on the same month a year earlier
-0.2% on the previous month
WIESBADEN – The producer prices of industrial products were 1.2% lower in May 2025 than in May 2024. In April 2025, the year-on-year change rate was -0.9%. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that producer prices in May 2025 were down 0.2% compared with the previous month.
In May 2025, lower energy prices were the main reason for the year-on-year decline in producer prices. Intermediate goods were also less expensive than a year earlier. By contrast, non-durable and durable consumer goods and capital goods were more expensive than in the same month of the previous year. When energy prices are excluded, producer prices in May 2025 rose by 1.3% on the same month of the previous year and remained unchanged compared with April 2025.
Energy prices down year on year and month on month
Energy prices in May 2025 were down 6.7% from the same month a year earlier. Compared with April 2025, energy prices dropped by 0.9%. Lower electricity prices had the biggest influence on the year-on-year rate of change for energy. Across all customer groups, electricity prices declined by 8.1% compared with May 2024 (+0.2% compared with April 2025).
Natural gas (distribution) cost 7.1% less than in May 2024 (-1.6% from April 2025), and district heating cost 0.5% less than in the same month of the previous year (-0.1% from April 2025).
Mineral oil product prices were down 9.6% from May 2024 (-2.0% compared with April 2025). Heating oil cost 10.2% less than a year earlier (-0.9% compared with April 2025), and motor fuel prices fell by 6.5% (-0.9% on April 2025).
Price increases for capital goods, non-durable and durable consumer goods
Capital goods prices in May 2025 were up 1.9% year on year (+0.1% compared with April 2025). Machinery cost 1.9% more than in May 2024 (+0.2% on April 2025). The prices of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers increased by 1.3% compared with May 2024 (unchanged from April 2025).
Non-durable consumer goods cost 3.6% more in May 2025 than in May 2024 (+0.5% on April 2025). Food was 4.2% more expensive than in May 2024 (+0.6% compared with April 2025). Compared with the same month of the previous year, coffee prices were much higher (+41.2%; -0.3% on April 2025), as were the prices of beef (+35.7%; +3.6% on April 2025), butter (+21.6%; -1.4% on April 2025) and vegetable oils (+10.3%; -1.6% on April 2025). By contrast, lower prices than in the same month a year earlier were recorded in May 2025 especially for sugar (-39.9%; -3.0% on April 2025) and pork
(-4.5%; +3.0% on April 2025).
Durable consumer goods cost 1.6% more in May 2025 than a year earlier (+0.2% compared with April 2025).
Slight decline in prices for intermediate goods compared with May 2024
Intermediate goods prices were 0.2% lower in May 2025 than a year earlier, and were down 0.2% on the previous month.
Cereal flours cost 3.5% less than in May 2024 (unchanged compared with April 2025). Basic chemicals were 2.4% less expensive than in the same month a year earlier (-1.1% on April 2025).
Metal prices were down 1.3% year on year (-0.3% on April 2025). Basic iron, steel and ferro-alloy cost 5.2% less than in May 2024 (-0.8% on April 2025). Copper and semi-finished copper products were 5.7% less expensive than in May 2024 (+0.8% on April 2025). By contrast, the prices of reinforcing steel were up 1.7% year on year (-0.3% on April 2025).
The prices of glass and glass products were down 0.9% compared with the same month a year earlier (+0.8% on April 2025), and hollow glass cost 6.1% less than in May 2024 (unchanged from April 2025).
Price increases compared with May 2024 were observed for paper and paper products (+3.2%; +0.4% on April 2025), for example. Prepared feeds for farm animals were 0.8% more expensive than a year earlier (-1.0% compared with April 2025).
Wood and products of wood and cork were 5.0% more expensive than in May 2024 (+0.4% compared with April 2025). Coniferous timber prices were 13.0% higher than in May 2024 (+1.4% on April 2025), while non-coniferous timber cost 2.4% less than in the same month a year earlier (+0.2% on April 2025).
Methodological notes:
The producer price index for industrial products measures the development of prices for products produced and sold in Germany by the mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and energy and water supply sectors. All charges and taxes on goods are included, except value-added tax. The index therefore reflects price developments at an early stage of the economic process. The 15th of each reference month is the survey reference date. The current base year of the producer price index for industrial products is 2021. The basket of goods and the index weighting refer to this base year.
More information:
The statistical report (only in German) on producer price indices of industrial products (domestic sales) also includes the latest results. Long time series for the overall index are also available in the table on producer price indices for industrial products (61241-0002) and for sub-indices in the table on producer price indices for industrial products (61241-0004) in the GENESIS-Online database.
Information on CO₂ pricing under the Fuel Emission Allowance Trading Act is provided on the "Producer price index for industrial products" page.
Producer prices of industrial products can also be found on the Economic Dashboard, which is part of 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 (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
