Germany's import prices increased at the fastest pace since early 2023 in April due to the sharp increases in energy and intermediate goods prices amid the war in the Middle East, data from Destatis showed on Friday.
Import prices grew 5.3% year-on-year in April after rising 2.3% in the previous month. This was the fastest growth since January 2023 and also marked the second consecutive rise.
Data showed that import prices of intermediate goods prices climbed 7.8% in April and energy prices surged 31%. The major cause of the annual increase was the conflict in Iran and the Middle East.
Excluding energy prices, import prices advanced 2.8% from the last year.
On a monthly basis, import prices climbed 1.2%, slower than the 3.6% increase a month ago.
Export prices posted an annual growth of 2.9% in April, which was the strongest rise since March 2023. This was followed by the 1.5% rise in March. Month-on-month, export prices were up 0.8%.
