German Import Prices Drop in September

German import prices fell by 1.3% year-on-year in September 2024, ending three months of growth and following a 0.2% increase in August.

This decline was mainly due to a sharp drop in energy prices (-16.1%), with significant decreases in diesel (-34.2%), gasoline (-30.9%), electricity (-22.2%), crude oil (-19.9%), and natural gas (-5.6%).

Additionally, costs fell for intermediate goods (-0.4%) and capital goods (-0.3%).

In contrast, consumer goods prices rose (1.9%), with durable goods up 0.4% and non-durable goods up 2.4%, while agricultural products increased 7.3%, largely due to broadly higher raw cocoa prices (107.8%).

Excluding energy, import costs were 0.6% higher compared to the same period last year.

On a monthly basis, import prices dropped by 0.4%, matching forecasts and the decline in the past two months.