According to the final report from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in September, consumer prices rose by 1.6% per annum, as expected, after an increase of 1.9% per annum in July. It marked the lowest inflation rate since February 2021. On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged, as expected, after a 0.1% decline in August.
"Further reductions in energy prices slowed inflation more significantly in September than in the previous months. On the other hand, price increases for services, which are still above average, drove inflation up," says Ruth Brand, President of the Destatis.
The data also showed that in September, energy prices fell by 7.6% per year after declining by 5.1% per year in July. The prices of both household energy (-4.0%) and motor fuels (-12.6%) were down year on year. Price reductions were recorded for heating oil (-17.9%), firewood, wood pellets and other solid fuels (-12.0%), electricity (-6.4%) and natural gas (-1.9%). By contrast, district heating was still considerably more expensive (+31.8%) than a year earlier. Food prices rose by 1.6% per year after an increase of 1.5% per year in August.
Meanwhile, the CPI excluding energy and food rose by 2.7% per year (the lowest value since January 2022) after increasing by 2.8% in August.
Destatis said that in September, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) - an indicator that allows to compare inflation in Germany with inflation in European countries - fell by 0.1% on a monthly basis and rose by 1.8% per annum (lowest level since February 2021). In August, HICP fell by 0.2% m/m and rose by 2.0% per annum.