According to the economic research institute Ifo, the easing in consumer prices is likely to stall for the time being. The proportion of companies in Germany that want to raise their prices in the coming months is increasing again, the Munich researchers announced on Wednesday.
Ifo price expectations rose to 19.7 points in December from 18.1 points in November. Expectations reached their preliminary low point in August with a balance of 14.5 points.
The experts expect more price increases in consumer-related service areas. “The restaurateurs in particular want to noticeably increase prices,” said the institute. The balance in this area rose from 45.9 to 87.6 points. The return to the normal VAT rate for food on January 1st is likely to play a role here. But retailers are also increasingly planning price increases again.
The points in the price expectations indicate what percentage of companies want to increase their prices on balance. The balance is obtained by subtracting the percentage of companies that want to raise their prices from the percentage of those that want to lower their prices.
Lower energy prices pushed the inflation rate in November to its lowest level since June 2021. Consumer prices were 3.2 percent higher than in the same month last year. According to many economists, the inflation rate is likely to rise to around 4 percent in December. Last year, the state covered the one-time cost of the December deduction for gas and district heating customers. This effect no longer applies this year. (dpa)