Inflationary pressure increases again: German HICP inflation climbs to 5.5 percent in February

The reason for this is the high energy prices, which are continuing to rise as a result of the war in Ukraine. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the HICP rose at an annual rate of 5.5 (previous month: 5.1) percent. The statisticians thus confirmed – as expected by economists – their provisional estimate of March 1st.

The HICP rose by 0.9 percent month-on-month, which also confirmed the preliminary data. The HICP rate is decisive for the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The national German consumer price index increased by 0.9 percent compared to the previous month. The annual inflation rate was 5.1 (previous month: 4.9) percent. The figures corresponded to the first publication and the forecasts of economists.

According to its President Joachim Nagel, the Deutsche Bundesbank expects that the surge in energy prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine will lead to a further rise in inflation in Germany. “Meanwhile, the experts at the Bundesbank expect that the inflation rate could reach 5 percent on average for the year,” said Nagel. A high rate of inflation is also to be expected for the euro area. “We must keep an eye on the normalization of our monetary policy,” demanded Nagel.

By Andreas Plecko

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)

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