German producer prices posted record jump in August

 A worker wears a protective mask at the Volkswagen assembly line after VW re-starts Europe’s largest car factory after coronavirus shutdown in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 27, 2020.  Swen Pfoertner/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BERLIN  -German producer prices rose in August at their strongest rate since records began both in annual and monthly terms, driven mainly by soaring energy prices, according to data released on Tuesday.

Producer prices of industrial products increased by 45.8 percent on the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported. Compared to July 2022, prices rose 7.9 percent, it added.

The surge was considerably stronger than expected, with analysts having forecast a 37.1 percent year-on-year rise and a 1.6-percent monthly rise, according to a Reuters poll.

In July, the year-on-year increase had been 37.2 percent and in June 32.7 percent.

Energy prices in August on average were over double the same period last year, up 139 percent, and 20.4 percent higher than the previous month, the office reported.

Excluding energy, the year-on-year rise in producer prices came in at 14 percent in August.

Producer prices for intermediate goods also rose significantly, up 17.5 percent on the year, driven mainly by a 19.9-percent surge in the price of metals.