2023.08.3008:03:00UTC+00Germany Import Prices Fall Most Since 1987

Germany's import prices registered its biggest fall since 1987 in July largely due to base effects, data released by Destatis showed on Wednesday.

Import prices were down 13.2 percent on a yearly basis in July after 11.4 percent decrease in June. The latest decline was the biggest since January 1987 and also larger than economists' forecast of 12.9 percent.

The statistical office said the overall fall was primarily due to a base effect originating from the large price increases in 2022 as a result of the war in Ukraine. On a monthly basis, import prices slid 0.6 percent but slower than June's 1.6 percent decline. Economists had expected prices to remain flat in July.

Energy import prices plunged 47.4 percent from a year ago. Excluding energy, import prices were 3.1 percent lower than in July 2022 and 0.9 percent down from last month. Further, data showed that the decline in export prices deepened to 3.2 percent from 0.9 percent in June. Month-on-month, exports prices slid 0.3 percent following a 0.1 percent drop in the previous month.