Strongest year-on-year decline since 2009
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), import prices in June 2023 decreased by 11.4 percent compared with June 2022. This was the strongest year-on-year price decline since September 2009, it said, with import prices down 1.6 percent from the previous month of May.
The decisive factor for the decrease in import prices is owed to the base effect caused by the high prices after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Energy prices become more favorable
Energy prices are a major contributor to the decline in the overall index, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Prices of energy imports decreased by 44.9 percent in June 2023 compared to June 2022. Compared with May 2023, prices fell by 6.6 percent. Natural gas had the largest impact, with a 50.6 percent decrease in prices compared to the same month last year. Compared to May 2023, these decreased by 15.5 percent.
If energy prices are not included in the calculation, import prices in June 2023 were 2.0 percent lower than in the same month a year earlier and 0.7 percent lower than in the previous month, according to Destatis.
Consideration of the individual goods classes
Imported intermediate goods were 8.8 percent cheaper compared with June 2022.
Consumer goods were 2.7 percent more expensive year-on-year. Capital goods prices were up 4.0 percent in June 2023 compared with June 2022.
Decreased export prices
Export prices in June 2023 decreased 0.9 percent year-over-year, the first decline since December 2020. Compared to May 2023, they have remained almost constant with a decrease of 0.1 percent.
According to Destatis, energy exports in June 2023 are 45.5 percent lower than a year earlier but are up 1.0 percent from May 2023. Natural gas prices saw a sharp decline of 51.2 percent year-on-year and 5.6 percent month-on-month.
Compared with June 2022, prices for exported intermediate goods were down 2.6 percent. In contrast, capital goods were exported 5.2 percent more expensive and consumer goods 4.2 percent more expensive than a year earlier.
Source: www.kloepfel-consulting.com