According to a company survey by the Ifo Institute, almost half of German companies intend to raise prices in the next three months. The companies would thus pass on the increased energy and procurement costs to consumers, the Munich economists announced on Monday. "This will have an impact on consumer prices"said Timo Wollmershäuser, head of the Ifo economic forecasts.
The institute now assumes that the inflation rate will be four percent this year. On average across all sectors of the economy, 46 percent of companies want to increase their prices, but according to the Ifo there are significantly more in retail.
According to the survey, more than 60 percent of wholesalers and almost 58 percent of retailers are planning price increases. Below the average are service providers with 41.9 percent and the construction industry with 41.5. The survey is part of the Ifo Institute’s regular business climate and economic surveys of several thousand companies. (dpa)