According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office, in April 2021, the index of producer prices for industrial products increased by 5.2% compared with April 2020. This was the highest increase compared to the corresponding month of the preceding year since August 2011 (+5.2%), when prices rose strongly after the end of the finance crisis. Economists had expected a 5.1% increase.

Compared with the preceding month March 2021 the overall index increased by 0.8% in April 2021.

Prices of intermediate goods increased by 8.2% compared to April 2020. This was the highest price increase compared to the previous year since February 2011 (+8.9%). Compared to March 2021 these prices were up 1.8 %. Compared to April 2020 intermediate goods’ prices increased especially regarding metallic secondary raw material (+62.7%), sawn and planed wood (+27.1%) and metals (+17.3%). Prices of basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys increased by 23.5%, prices of non-ferrous metals were up 21.7%. 

Energy prices as a whole increased by 10.6% compared to April 2020 and by 0.6 compared to March 2021. The price increase from April 2020 to April 2021 is mainly due to the increase of electricity prices (+10.7%), furthermore to the high increase of prices for mineral oil products (+30.9%), which is mainly caused by a base effect resulting from the sharp drop in prices in spring 2020 in the course of the pandemic.

Prices of durable consumer goods increased by 1.6% compared to April 2020 (+0.4% compared to March 2021), capital goods, such as machines and vehicles, by 1.0% (+0.3% compared to March 2021).

Prices of non-durable consumer goods decreased by 0.6% compared to April 2020 but increased by 0.6% compared to March 2021. Food prices decreased from April 2020 to April 2021 by 1.3%, caused by price decreases of pork until February 2021. Though pork prices increased from February until April 2021 by 19.3% they still were 14.3% down compared to April 2020. By contrast, prices of butter increased by 10.1%, prices of sugar were up 13.3% and prices of vegetable crude oils 29.6%.