Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

This measure of German inflation just hit its highest level since 1949

This measure of German inflation just hit its highest level since 1949

The price of goods leaving German factories has passed an eye-watering milestone.
German annual producer price inflation topped 30% in March, the country's Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday. That's its highest level since the agency began collecting data 73 years ago.

The biggest culprit? Energy prices, which rose nearly 84% from the same month last year.

"Mainly responsible for the high rise of energy prices were the strong price increases of natural gas... which was [up] 144.8% on March 2021," the statistics office said in a statement.

It is one of first signs of the huge impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine is having on the German economy, Europe's biggest. Producer prices rose by nearly 5% between February and March alone.

Consumers should brace themselves. Factory gate inflation feeds into retail prices, and shoppers can expect to spend more on everything from furniture to meat, according to Wednesday's figures.

German consumer price inflation is already at a 41-year high, hitting 7.3% last month. Energy prices were the main contributor, up almost 40% from the previous month.

Global energy prices were rising before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. As economies began to reopen from their pandemic lockdowns, demand for fuel surged and wholesale prices shot up.

But Western sanctions on Russia's coal and oil exports — and efforts by the European Union to slash consumption of its natural gas — have pushed prices up even further.

Germany has so far resisted an embargo on natural gas, and with good reason. According to the International Energy Agency, the country relies on Russia for about 46% of its consumption. An abrupt break with its biggest supplier would likely trigger rationing and inflict severe damage on its energy-intensive manufacturing sector.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck has already warned Germans that they "will be poorer" as a result of the war.

"It is not possible that this ends without costs for German society, it is unthinkable," he said last month.

Soaring prices have rattled a country that has long prided itself on its stable economy, and that still carries a deep-rooted fear of the kind of hyperinflation of the 1920s and 1930s that is widely thought to have helped the Nazi party rise to power.

The European Central Bank has yet to raise interest rates to tame spiraling prices, unlike its counterparts in the United States and United Kingdom, and has resisted calls to specify a date when it will.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said last week she needed to keep her options open, given the uncertain outlook for the region's economy, and reiterated that the bank would only raise the cost of borrowing after it winds down its purchases of government bonds at some point in the third quarter.

A German manufacturer, Henkel (HENKY), announced on Wednesday that it would cease operations in Russia. The $25 billion chemical and consumer goods giant said it would continue to pay its 2,500 workers in the country. The maker of Persil detergent did not say what financial impact its exit would have.
Comments

francis 2 year ago
qui a dit que les Américains font la guerre aux Russes jusqu'au dernier Ukrainien ?
nous voyons tous les jours cela se confirmer !
Oh ya 2 year ago
Well when Europe learns to stop being a puppet for the US things might get back close to what they were before. Germany was a partner on nor stream 2 and Russia was waiting for approval from Germany to start pumping gas. But the square heads started sucking american dick and now get to pay the price. The world needs to realize the USA is a failing nation and will pull every country they can down with them. With cutting of Russia from the SWIFT system they have shot themselves in the head as we can now see countries bypassing the USD . The end of the petro dollar thus the world reserve currency is happening before your eyes. Saudi is makingvpayment deals in other currencies and the other oil pumping countries will follow suit so they can sell their oil also. Most Americans have no idea of the amount of inflation that they are about to experience when those USD are sent back tobthe states. More money in circulation chasing the same amount of products is what inflation is

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×