Germany’s import prices rose in November at the fastest pace in nearly five decades, preliminary data from Destatis showed Thursday. The import price index rose 24.7 percent year-on-year following a 21.7 percent increase in October. Economists had forecast a score of 22.3 percent. The pace of increase was the fastest since October 1974, when import prices rose 28.8 percent, Destatis said. Compared to the previous month, the import prices rose 3.0 percent in November after a 3.8 percent increase in October.
Economists had forecast a 1.1 percent gain. On a year-on-year basis, energy import prices jumped 159.5 from a year ago, led by a massive 270.9 percent surge in natural gas prices and 100.4 percent increase in crude oil prices. Excluding crude oil and mineral oil products, the import prices rose 20.8 percent annually in November and by 3.1 percent from the previous month.
The export price index climbed 9.9 percent annually, marking the biggest gain since January 1975, when prices rose 10.5 percent. In October, export prices grew 9.5 percent. On a month-on-month basis, export prices increased 0.8 percent.