German Import Prices Fall for 11th Straight Month

Germany’s import prices climbed 2.3% yoy in March 2026, rebounding from a 2.3% decline in each of the previous three months and above the forecast of 1.6%. This marked the first increase in import prices since March 2025 and the fastest pace since February 2025, driven largely by a 13.2% rise in energy costs, as prices increased for mineral oil products (41.6%), crude oil (24.6%), and electricity (4.4%). Intermediate goods prices also rose 4.1%, driven by increases in non-ferrous metals and semi-finished non-ferrous metal products (25.8%) and precious metals (58.4%). Capital goods prices also rose 0.6%, while consumer goods prices fell 1.9%, with both durable (-1.1%) and non-durable goods (-2.1%) declining. Meanwhile, agricultural product cost fell 6.2%, led by sharp declines in raw cocoa (-57.8%) and green coffee (-14.4%). Monthly, import prices rose 3.6%, accelerating sharply from February’s 0.3% and above market expectations of 3%, marking the fastest pace since March 2022.

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.