The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the year-on-year rate of price increase in 2018 thus was slightly higher than in the previous year (2017: +1.8%). In December 2018, the inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index decreased markedly on the previous months, reaching 1.7%.

The increase in the year-on-year rate of price increase in 2018 was mainly due to energy prices. Energy product prices in 2018 were up 4.9% on 2017, the increase being larger than a year earlier (2017: +3.1% on 2016). The largest price increases in 2018 were recorded for heating oil (+21.7%) and motor fuel prices were markedly up, too (+7.8%). In contrast to these sharp price rises for mineral oil products, moderate price developments were observed for other energy products. Excluding energy prices, the year-on-year rate of price increase in 2018 would have been +1.6%.