Producer prices of industrial products in Germany (domestic sales), July 2024
-0.8% on the same month a year earlier
+0.2% on the previous month

The producer prices of industrial products were 0.8% lower in July 2024 than in July 2023. In June 2024, the year-on-year change rate was -1.6%. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that producer prices in July 2024 were up 0.2% on June 2024.

In July 2024, lower energy prices continued to be the main reason for the year-on-year decline in producer prices, while higher prices had to be paid for consumer and capital goods.

Sharp declines in the prices of natural gas (distribution) and electricity

Energy prices were down 4.1% in July 2024 from July 2023. Compared with June 2024, energy prices rose by 0.5%. Lower prices for natural gas and electricity had the biggest influence on the year-on-year rate of change for energy. Across all customer groups, gas prices declined by 12.3% from July 2023; they were up 0.7% on June 2024. Electricity cost 9.2% less in July 2024 than in July 2023 and 0.1% less than in June 2024, across all consumer groups.

By contrast, the prices of mineral oil products were up 2.7% from July 2023, increasing by 0.6% compared with June 2024. Heating oil cost 7.5% more than in July 2023 but was 1.7% less expensive than in June 2024. Motor fuel prices increased by 0.5% from a year earlier (+0.4% compared with June 2024).

Excluding energy prices, producer prices in July 2024 were up 0.9% year on year (+0.1% compared with June 2024).

Slight price increase for intermediate goods

Intermediate goods prices were 0.3% higher in July 2024 than a year earlier, rising by 0.2% compared with the previous month. Different price trends were seen within the individual product groups.

Price increases compared with July 2023 were observed for stone, gravel, sand, clay and kaolin (+5.5%), mortar (+5.2%), plaster products for construction purposes (+3.3%) and lime (+2.0%).

Wood and products of wood and cork were 2.6% less expensive than in July 2023. Particle boards cost 12.0% less than in the same month of the previous year and fibre board prices were down 6.3%. Non-coniferous timber was 3.6% less expensive compared with July 2023, whereas coniferous timber cost 6.9% more than a year earlier.

Metals cost 2.0% less in July 2024 than in July 2023. The prices of basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys were also significantly lower (-9.0%) than in the same month a year earlier. The prices of bar steel declined by 6.9% year on year. By contrast, copper and semi-finished copper products cost 10.2% more compared with July 2023.

Paper and paper products were 1.8% less expensive than in July 2023 (+1.0% compared with the previous month). Newsprint cost 5.2% less than in July 2023; the prices of boxes and cartons made of corrugated paper or paperboard were down 3.5% year on year.

The prices of basic chemicals (total) dropped by 1.8% compared with the same month of the previous year. Prepared feeds for farm animals cost 7.3% less than a year earlier, the prices of glass and glass products were down 5.7%, and cement was 0.5% less expensive than in July 2023.

Price increases for capital goods, non-durable and durable consumer goods

Capital goods prices in July 2024 rose 2.0% year on year (0.0% compared with June 2024). Machinery cost 2.1% more than in July 2023. The prices of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers increased by 1.3% from July 2023.

Non-durable consumer goods cost 0.6% more in July 2024 than in July 2023 (-0.1% on June 2024). Food was slightly more expensive (+0.2%) than in July 2023. Substantial year-on-year price increases were recorded for butter (+33.0%; +5.7% compared with June 2024) and sugar, confectionery and bakery products (+21.5%); preserved fruit and vegetables cost 4.8% more than in July 2023. By contrast, the price of pork, in particular, was lower in July 2024 than a year earlier (-11.5%).

Durable consumer goods were 0.7% more expensive in July 2024 than in July 2023. Compared with June 2024, the prices of durable consumer goods remained unchanged.

Rebasing the producer price index for industrial products

The producer price index for industrial products was rebased to 2021 as of reference month January 2024. As a general rule, the base year is changed every five years. The recalculation of the producer price index relies on a weighting scheme that is based on the domestic sales of industrial products in 2021 and is used for weighting the subindices in the calculation of the overall index.

Source: DESTATIS
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