German producer prices see highest-ever annual rise as energy prices surge
German producer prices rose at their highest annual pace in April as the war in Ukraine pushed up energy prices, according to figures released by Destatis on Friday.
Producer prices for industrial products jumped 33.5% on the same month a year ago, while on the month, prices were up 2.8% in April.
"Mainly responsible for the increase of producer prices compared to April 2021 still was the price increase of energy," Destatis said.
Energy prices jumped 87.3% compared to April 2021 and by 2.5% compared to a month earlier, as natural gas prices surged 154.8% on April 2021. Destatis noted that power plants had to pay four times as much as the year earlier.
Prices of intermediate goods rose 26% on the year in April, and 4.1% on the month. Meanwhile, prices of non-durable consumer goods increased by 13.2% on the year and by 3.9% on the month.