Germany’s annual inflation rate stabilized in February but remained high, with increasing signs that price pressures are broadening beyond the more-volatile categories of food and energy.
Consumer prices rose 8.7% in February compared with the same month a year earlier measured by national standards, data from the German Federal Statistics Office Destatis showed Friday.
The reading is in line with the preliminary data published earlier this month, confirming that consumer prices rose in February at the same pace as they did in January, a rate close to the multidecade highs of late 2022.
In February, prices of household energy and motor fuels increased 19.1% on year, easing from the 23.1% rise recorded in January. However, food inflation accelerated to 21.8% from 20.2% a month earlier, the data showed.
“Households felt the impact of higher food prices also in February, as they increased even more than energy prices,” President of Destatis Ruth Brand said.
Germany’s core inflation–the rate which excludes the more-volatile categories of food and energy–accelerated to 5.7% in February from 5.6% in January.
Consumer prices increased 9.3% on year in February measured by European Union harmonized standards, Destatis said, also in line with the preliminary estimate. This marks an uptick from the 9.2% on-year advance registered in January.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at [email protected]
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