Germany’s import prices declined at a faster-than-expected pace in September, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday.
The import price index slid 4.0 percent year-over-year in September, exceeding economists’ expectations for a 3.5 percent decrease. In August, prices had fallen 3.1 percent.
Import prices have been falling since January 2013. The latest rate of decline was the fastest since January this year, when prices had dropped 4.4 percent.
The annual decrease in September was largely caused by a 31.9 percent slump in energy prices. Meanwhile, excluding energy, import price index rose 0.7 percent in September from a year ago.
Month-on-month, import prices fell at a slower rate of 0.7 percent in September, following a 1.5 percent decrease in the preceding month. The expected rate of decline was only 0.2 percent. It was the fifth month of drop in a row.
At the same time, export prices climbed 0.3 percent yearly in September, but slower than August’s 0.8 percent rise. The index has been increasing since September last year.
On a monthly basis, export prices dropped for the second straight month by 0.3 percent in September, after a 0.5 percent fall in the prior month.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com