In 2022, Germany brought more inflation into the country than it has in almost five decades. Imports rose by an average of 26.3 percent due to high energy prices. “This was the strongest year-on-year price increase since 1974,” said the Federal Statistical Office. At that time there was even an increase of 28.7 percent as a result of the first oil crisis.
In 2021, imports had already increased at an unusually high rate of 13.5 percent. Since the German economy obtains many preliminary products and raw materials from abroad, higher import prices also reach consumers with a delay.
The prices for natural gas (+178.6 percent), hard coal (+161.9 percent) and electricity (+144.0 percent) rose particularly sharply in the past year. Mineral oil products cost 74.8 percent more than in the previous year, crude oil 57.8 percent more. The reason is the energy crisis as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the end of the year, however, inflationary pressure eased noticeably. In December, imports only increased by 12.6 percent compared to the same month last year. Compared to the previous month, they fell by 1.6 percent and thus for the fourth time in a row, after there had even been a record decline of minus 4.5 percent in November.
Experts expect that consumer prices will rise much more slowly this year, also because of energy that is no longer quite as expensive.