Press release No. 207 of 31 May 2023
Import prices, April 2023
-7.0% on the same month a year earlier
-1.7% on the previous month
Export prices, April 2023
+1.1% on the same month a year earlier
-0.4% on the previous month
WIESBADEN – The index of import prices decreased by 7.0% in April 2023 compared with the corresponding month of the preceding year. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports, this was the highest decrease compared with the preceding year since October 2009 (-8.1% compared with October 2008). The year-on-year rate of change had been -3.8% in March 2023 and +2.8% in February 2023. Compared with March 2023, import prices were down 1.7% in April 2023.
Year-on-year price decrease mainly due to lower prices for energy
Import prices for energy decreased by 31.8% compared with April 2022 (-6.6% compared with March 2023). The year-on-year decrease was mainly due to the price decrease of natural gas (-38.7% compared with April 2022). Compared with March 2023, natural gas prices fell by 14.0%. The prices for imported hard coal were considerable lower than a year before (-44.3%), likewise electric power (-38.6%), mineral oil products (-28.4%) and crude oil (-21.2%).
The index of import prices, excluding crude oil and mineral oil products, decreased by 5.2% in April 2023 compared with April 2022 and fell by 1.8% in comparison with March 2023.
Import prices for intermediate goods decreased by 6.5% compared with April 2022 (-1.2% compared with March 2023).
In contrast prices for consumer goods and capital goods increased by 4.6% and 4.7% compared to April 2022.
Export prices pushed by increases in prices of capital and consumer goods
The index of export prices was 1.1% higher in April 2023 than in April 2022. In March 2023 and February 2023, the year-on-year rate of change had been +2.3% and +6.6%, respectively. Compared with March 2023, export prices were down 0.4% in April 2023.
The price increase in April 2023 in comparison with April 2022 was mainly due to the development of capital goods. Prices of exported capital goods were 5.4% higher than in April 2022 (+0.2% compared with March 2023). The price development of capital goods was mainly influenced by the development of machinery prices, which were up 8.0% on April 2022, followed by that of motor vehicle prices (+3.9%).
Consumer goods increased by 4.9%, while Intermediate goods’ prices decreased by -0.2% compared with April 2022.
Energy exports were 34.3% cheaper than in April 2022 (-2.4% compared with March 2023). This was mainly due to the price decrease of natural gas (-45.1% compared with April 2022). Compared with March 2023 these prices decreased by 1.6%.
More detailed data and long time series are available in the tables Index of import prices (61411-0002 and 61411-0006) and Index of export prices (61421-0002 and 61421-0006) in the GENESIS-Online database.
Import price indices are also available in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators of official statistics and from other data providers on the topics of economy and finance as well as health and mobility.A tool also available there is the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German). It can be used for real-time monitoring of the economic development.
