According to the latest data from Destatis, Germany's import prices continued their downward trend in March, although the rate of decline has been decreasing. The import prices fell 3.6 percent year-on-year, following a 4.9 percent decline in February. This was more substantial than the anticipated 3.8 percent fall in March.
The substantial annual decrease in import prices can be mainly attributed to the reduced cost of intermediate goods and energy. Prices of imported intermediate goods dropped by 5.9 percent. Meanwhile, energy imports were 15.1 percent less expensive compared to March 2023.
When excluding energy, the year-on-year decline in import prices was 2.3 percent. However, compared to the previous month, import prices rose by 0.4 percent.
The data also revealed that there was a 0.4 percent increase in import prices on a monthly basis, reversing the 0.2 percent decline observed in the previous month.
On the export front, prices registered an annual decline of 1.0 percent, following a 1.1 percent drop. Concurrently, the monthly increase in export prices slightly dropped to 0.1 percent from the previously noted 0.2 percent.
