Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that the producer price index rose by 5% in December after an increase by 0.8% in November. Economists had expected an increase by 0.8%.
Meanwhile, in annual terms, the producer price index increased by 24.2%, recording the largest increase in the entire history of observations. Economists had expected that price growth would accelerate to only 19.4% compared with +19.2% in November.
Destatis reported that the catalyst for the latest increase was an increase in energy prices - by 69% per annum and by 15.7% on a monthly basis. Natural gas (distribution) prices jumped by 121.9% per annum, while electricity prices increased by 74.3% per annum. Meanwhile, the producer price index excluding energy increased by 10.4% per annum.
The data also showed that in December prices for intermediate goods increased by 19.3% per annum, while the cost of metals increased by 36.1% per annum. Prices for non-durable consumer goods increased by 4.7% per annum, while food prices increased by 6.4% per annum. Meanwhile, prices of capital goods rose by 3.8%.
The average annual growth of the producer price index in 2021 was 10.5% per annum compared with a decrease of 1% in 2019. Energy prices increased by an average of 24.8%, natural gas (distribution) prices jumped by 41.7%, and prices for petroleum products increased by 27.6%. Meanwhile, excluding energy, the producer price index increased by an average of 6.1% per annum.