Producer prices in December 2024 +0.8% - Slight year-on-year inflation

Marc Nemitz Marc Nemitz | 20.01.2025

Stable prices with differences. Energy prices drove producer prices down overall in 2024. However, capital and consumer goods recorded significant increases in some cases.

Wiesbaden, January 20, 2025 - Producer prices for industrial products in Germany rose by 0.8% in December 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year. Compared to the previous month of November, prices fell by 0.1%, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). However, the annual average price level in 2024 was 1.8% lower than in 2023, marking a significant decline after prices had risen by an average of 0.2% in the previous year.

Energy prices weigh on the overall picture

The annual average price decline is primarily due to the development of energy prices, which were 6.2% lower in 2024 than in the previous year. The fall in prices was particularly marked for natural gas (-13.3%) and electricity (-10.3%). In December 2024, petroleum products also cost less than a year earlier (-4.0%), although they rose slightly compared to the previous month (+0.3%). The price trend was different for district heating, which rose sharply by 17.2 %.

More expensive capital and consumer goods

While energy became cheaper, prices for capital goods rose by 1.8% compared to the previous year. Consumer goods also became 2.6% more expensive. The price increase was particularly strong for foodstuffs such as butter (+40.9%) and confectionery (+24.4%). In contrast, staple foods such as sugar (-32.6%) and pork (-7.0%) fell in price.

Price movements for intermediate goods

Prices for intermediate goods remained almost stable (+0.1% year-on-year). A differentiated picture emerged here: While wood products and metals became cheaper in some cases, construction and electrical components became more expensive. For example, cables and electrical installation materials cost 1.1% more than in December 2023, while prices for pig iron, steel and ferroalloys fell by 7.6%.

Annual average: differentiated development

In 2024 as a whole, the decline in producer prices was noticeable for the first time in years. Despite falling energy prices, the cost of capital goods rose by 2.2 %. Consumer goods also recorded an increase of 1.1%, with strong swings for butter (+26.6%) and confectionery (+20.1%).

The latest figures illustrate the tension between falling energy prices and rising costs in other industrial sectors. Against the backdrop of global energy and commodity markets, this development remains of central importance. It will be interesting to see what impact the tariff increases announced by the new President Trump in the USA will have on the development of producer prices. Higher import tariffs could increase the cost of intermediate goods and raw materials, which is likely to impact production costs and therefore price trends in numerous sectors. Further developments will be decisive for the competitiveness of internationally operating companies and the stability of global supply chains.


Like it? Please spread the word:


Newsletter

Startups, stories and stats from the German startup ecosystem straight to your inbox. Subscribe with 2 clicks. Noice.

LinkedIn Connect

Take care, give care

Did this news inform or entertain you? Then we would be happy if you tell your network about it.

Share on Linkedin Share on Facebook Share on Xing

FYI: English edition available

Hello my friend, have you been stranded on the German edition of Startbase? At least your browser tells us, that you do not speak German - so maybe you would like to switch to the English edition instead?

Go to English edition

FYI: Deutsche Edition verfügbar

Hallo mein Freund, du befindest dich auf der Englischen Edition der Startbase und laut deinem Browser sprichst du eigentlich auch Deutsch. Magst du die Sprache wechseln?

Deutsche Edition öffnen

Similar posts