Germany Import Prices Drop the Least in 5 Months

Germany’s import prices fell 2.3% year-on-year in February 2026, unchanged from the previous two months. This marked the eleventh consecutive month of declining import prices and the steepest drop since March 2024, driven largely by a 20.9% slump in energy costs, as prices fell for natural gas (-27.9%), electricity (-25.6%), crude oil (-19.1%), hard coal (-14.2%), and petroleum products (-11.4%). Agricultural import prices also declined to 5.7%, led by sharp drops in raw cocoa (-47.4%), live pigs (-21%), and raw coffee (-9.1%). In addition, consumer goods prices fell 3.2%, with both durable (-2.8%) and non-durable goods (-3.3%) decreasing. In contrast, prices for intermediate goods rose 2.5%, driven by increases in precious metals and semi-finished products (60.3%) and non-ferrous metals (24.8%). On a monthly basis, import prices rose 0.3%, slowing from January’s 1.1% but slightly above market expectations of 0.2%.

Germany’s import prices fell by 2.3% year-on-year in January 2026, unchanged from December. It remained the steepest drop since March 2024, weighed down by a decline in energy costs (-21.1%) amid lower prices for crude oil (-24.5%), natural gas (-23.1%), and petroleum products (-16.8%). Excluding energy prices, import prices still fell by 0.1% in January. Moreover, prices for agricultural goods declined by 6.5%, dragged down by reduced prices for raw cocoa (-46.4%), live pigs (-26.5%), and grains (-8.2%). Consumer goods prices dropped 2.7%, with durable goods falling 2.5% and non-durable goods declining 2.7%. In contrast, intermediate goods prices rose 2.8%, primarily due to higher costs for precious metals and their semi-finished products (65.2%), as well as non-ferrous metals and their semi-finished products (25.9%). On a monthly basis, import prices increased by 1.1% in January, exceeding market expectations of a 0.6% gain and rebounding from a 0.1% decline in December.

Germany’s import prices dropped 2.3% yoy in December 2025, following a 1.9% decline in November and compared with expectations of a 2.6% fall. This marked the ninth consecutive month of declining import prices and the steepest drop since March 2024, driven largely by a sharp fall in energy costs (-20.6%), particularly natural gas (-23.4%), crude oil (-23.2%), hard coal (-20.9%), electricity (-14.0%), and mineral oil products (-13.1%). Excluding energy, import prices were down 0.3%. Prices for capital goods also decreased by 0.5%, while agricultural imports shrank 2.8%, largely weighed down by a 35.4% plunge in raw cocoa. Consumer goods dropped 1.4%, with durable and non- durable goods prices declining 2.5% and 1.1%, respectively. By contrast, intermediate goods rose by 1.2%. On a monthly basis, import prices edged down 0.1% in December, softer than expectations of a 0.4% decline, reversing a 0.5% increase in November. For the full year 2025, import prices averaged fell by 0.3%.