Following low inflation rates - as measured by the consumer price index - in the first half of the year, the rate of price increase rose towards the end of 2016, reaching its highest level of the year in December 2016 (+1.7%). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that a higher inflation rate was last recorded in July 2013 (+1.9%). On an annual average in 2016, the consumer prices in Germany rose 0.5% on 2015. The year-on-year rate of price increase thus was slightly above previous year's level (2015: +0.3%).

The low 2016 inflation rate was largely due to the development of energy product prices. On the whole, prices of energy products fell markedly by 5.4% in 2016 on 2015. The downward effect on prices, however, was smaller than in the previous year (2015: -7.0% on 2014).

Price decreases were recorded in 2016 especially for mineral oil products (-9.3%, of which heating oil: -16.9%; motor fuels: -7.3%) and charges for central and district heating (-8.5%). For gas, too, price decreases were observed on an annual average (-3.0%). Only electricity prices rose in 2016 (+0.6% on 2015). Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate in 2016 would have been markedly higher (+1.2%).