Berlin (Germany), December 11: Inflation in Germany continued to rise and climbed from 4.5 percent in October to 5.2 percent in November, the highest rate registered in the country since June 1992, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday.
"The inflation rate increased for the sixth time in a row and in November reached the highest level recorded in 2021 so far," said Georg Thiel, president of Destatis.
Price development in recent months was driven by "base effects due to low prices in 2020," Destatis noted. The temporary reduction of value added tax (VAT) and the sharp decline in mineral oil product prices last year had an "upward effect on the overall inflation rate."
Energy prices in Germany in November were up 22.1 percent year-on-year. "The rate of price increase regarding energy was up for the fifth month in a row," Destatis noted. Prices for heating oil rose steepest and doubled compared to last year, while fuel prices soared by 43.2 percent.
The introduction of a CO2 pricing in the transport and housing sectors at the beginning of the year, with a charge of 25 euros (around 28 U.S. dollars) per ton of carbon dioxide emitted, further fuelled inflation in Germany, according to Destatis.
Prices of goods in Germany increased above-average with 7.9 percent in November, according to Destatis. Net rents, which were "important as they account for a large part of household consumption expenditure," rose by only 1.4 percent and had a downward effect on overall inflation.
When presenting its annual report, the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE), an official advisory body to the German government, noted that the "sharp rise in global demand has led to high commodity and energy prices and supply shortages."
GCEE expects an inflation rate in Germany of 3.1 percent for the entire year 2021 and 2.6 percent for 2022.
"Longer-lasting supply shortages, higher wage settlements and rising energy prices pose a risk that the temporary factors that are driving up prices may lead to persistently higher inflation rates." (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua