German producer prices posted their biggest annual fall in at least 60 years in July due to sharp lower energy costs, the Federal Statistics Office said this morning.
Prices fell 7.8 per cent compared with July 2008, the biggest drop since the founding of the post-war Federal Republic in 1949.
“This means in July 2009 prices were back roughly at the same level as they were in May 2007,” the Office said.
Month-on-month, prices fell by 1.5 per cent.
Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast producer prices would fall in July by 0.2 percent month-on-month, and by 6.5 per cent year-on-year.
Excluding energy, prices fell 0.2 per cent month-on-month and by 3.6 per cent on an annual basis.
A breakdown of the latest figures showed the cost of light heating oil was down by 49.8 per cent on the year in July. Diesel fuel was 30.9 per cent cheaper, and petrol 17.2 per cent.
Reuters