Germany's inflation rate accelerated in December, marking an end to the declining trend observed over recent months. This increase was highlighted in the preliminary data released on Thursday.
December witnessed a 3.7 percent year-on-year hike in consumer prices, a notable jump from November's 3.2 percent, as reported by Destatis, the federal statistics agency. This rise marks the first significant monthly increase since June, aligning with earlier predictions by market analysts.
Fritzi Koehler-Geib, KfW's chief economist, attributed this inflationary surge primarily to historical factors. December 2023's energy price escalation, when compared to the previous year, stemmed partly from the government's 2022 end-of-year assistance for household expenses. According to Koehler-Geib, this intervention makes current energy prices seem higher relative to their recent downward trend.
The German economy has been under considerable strain following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which led to a drastic reduction in vital gas exports. This had a profound impact on energy costs and consequently, the German industrial sector.
Inflation reached its peak towards the end of 2022 but has shown signs of easing in the past few months. This deceleration coincides with a slowdown in economic activity and the European Central Bank's (ECB) successive interest rate hikes.
For the entirety of 2023, the inflation rate stood at 5.9 percent, a decline from the 6.9 percent recorded in 2022, which was a multi-decade high, as per Destatis. The moderation in inflation rates is expected to provide some respite to both consumers and businesses, who have been grappling with rapid price escalations in energy and subsequently, food.
The Cologne Institute for the German Economy (IW) reported that compared to 2020, food prices during the recent festive period were on average 30 percent higher. They estimated a 4.7 percent increase in the cost of potato salad, a traditional German Christmas dish, between 2022 and 2023.
Despite the recent moderation, inflation rates continue to exceed the ECB's target of two percent. The Frankfurt-based bank has recently emphasized that the battle against inflation is far from over. Carsten Brzeski, ING bank's head of macro, opined that this resurgence in inflation reinforces the ECB's need to maintain a cautious approach, avoiding premature rate cuts.
