Energy costs propel German producer prices almost 20% in their biggest leap in 70 years

Producer prices are regarded as a leading indicator for inflation, and can therefore provide an early indication of consumer price trends

A shopping street in Cologne, Germany. Producer prices can be an early indicator of consumer price trends. AP

German producer prices rose by 19.2 per cent on the year in November, driven up by higher energy prices to record the biggest annual jump since 1951 for the second month in a row, official data showed on Friday.

Analysts had, on average, expected an annual increase of 19.9 per cent according to a Reuters poll. On the month, producer prices rose 0.8 per cent in November.

Energy prices were up 49.4 per cent compared to November 2020, and rose 1.2 per cent on the month, the Federal Statistics Office said.

Stripping out energy prices, producer prices rose 9.9 per cent on the year.

In October, producer prices had also recorded their strongest increase since 1951, rising 18.4 per cent.

Producer prices are regarded as a leading indicator for inflation. They are recorded at the factory gate – before products are processed further or go on sale – and can therefore provide an early indication of consumer price trends.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank took another small step in rolling back crisis-era stimulus but promised to hold down borrowing costs next year and even kept the door open to restarting emergency support.