Press release No. 463 of 10 December 2024
Consumer price index, November 2024
+2.2% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
-0.2% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
Harmonised index of consumer prices, November 2024
+2.4% on the same month a year earlier (provisional result confirmed)
-0.7% on the previous month (provisional result confirmed)
WIESBADEN −The inflation rate in Germany, measured as the year-on-year change in the consumer price index (CPI), stood at +2.2% in November 2024. This means that the inflation rate increased again. It stood at +2.0% in October 2024 after having remained below the two-percent mark for two months (September 2024: +1.6%; August 2024: +1.9%). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that inflation in November 2024 was particularly fuelled by above-average price increases for services. By contrast, the development of energy prices again had a dampening effect on the inflation rate in November 2024, but the effect was less pronounced than in the previous months. Compared with October 2024, consumer prices were down 0.2% in November 2024.
Energy product prices fell by 3.7% compared with November 2023
The prices of energy products in November 2024 were 3.7% lower compared with the same month a year earlier. Following a drop of 5.5% in October and a 7.6% drop in September 2024, the decline in prices has therefore continued to slow. Motor fuel prices (-6.6%) were down in November 2024 from a year earlier. With regard to household energy, consumers particularly benefited from lower prices for heating oil (only in German) (-12.5%) and firewood, wood pellets and other solid fuels (only in German) (-11.8%). Electricity (-4.1%) also cost less than in November 2023. By contrast, district heating was still considerably more expensive (+30.7%) than a year earlier.
Food prices up 1.8% on November 2023
Food prices in November 2024 were 1.8% higher than in the same month a year earlier. However, the rise in food prices slowed year on year, after a 2.3% increase was registered in October 2024. Compared with November 2023, notable price increases for edible fats and oils were also recorded in November 2024 (+19.1%, including butter (only in German): +38.9%; olive oil: +13.3%%, but sunflower oil, rapeseed oil and the like: -7.9%). Consumers also had to pay more than a year earlier for sugar, jam, honey and other confectionery (+3.1%) in November 2024. There was a significant increase in chocolate prices (+9.5%), whereas sugar prices dropped considerably (-23.0%).
Inflation rate excluding food and energy at +3.0%
Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate stood at +2.9% in November 2024. The inflation rate excluding food and energy, often referred to as core inflation, was +3.0% in November 2024. Both rates have notably exceeded overall inflation since January 2024, thereby demonstrating that inflation was above average in other important product groups.
Service prices saw above-average increase of 4.0% year on year
Compared with the same month of the previous year, the prices of services (total) were up 4.0% in November 2024, and therefore continued to be well above overall inflation. In October 2024, the year-on-year rate of increase in service prices also stood at +4.0%. In the period from November 2023 to November 2024, price increases were recorded, in particular, for insurance services (+16.6%, including transport insurance (only in German): +34.5%), air tickets (+10.4%), services of social facilities (+8.0%) and catering services in restaurants, cafés and the like (+6.7%). Significant price rises were also observed for in-patient health services (+6.1%), the maintenance and repair of vehicles (+5.6%), and water supply and miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling (+4.6%), for instance. Net rents exclusive of heating expenses also continue to be a major factor contributing to the development of service prices. At +2.1%, the rate of price increase was slightly below the inflation rate. By contrast, only few services cost less than in the same month a year earlier, for example telecommunications services (-0.9%).
Prices of goods up 0.7% on November 2023
The prices of goods (total) were up 0.7% in November 2024 compared with November 2023. The price increase observed for non-durable consumer goods (+0.8%) was somewhat larger than for durable consumer goods (+0.5%). Aside from the increase in food prices (+1.8%), individual products were markedly more expensive, particularly tobacco products (+6.8%) and non-alcoholic beverages (+6.6%). By contrast, lower prices were recorded not only for energy (-3.7%) but also for furniture and lighting equipment (-0.8%), for example.
Prices (total) down 0.2% month on month
Compared with October 2024, the consumer price index fell by 0.2% in November 2024. Due to the season, lower prices were registered for air tickets (-15.2%) and package holidays (-13.2%), in particular. The prices of energy (total) fell by 0.2%; heating oil, in particular, became less expensive (-1.9%). Food prices (total) remained virtually unchanged (+0.1%) compared with the previous month. However, the price increase for butter (only in German) (+2.7% compared with October 2024) and the decline in the price of sugar (only in German)(-4.4% compared with October 2024) were notable food price movements. Furthermore, price increases were observed in November 2024 for clothing and footwear (+0.6%), for example.
Methodological notes:
An overview explaining the different measures of the Federal Government and their impact on the consumer price index is available on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.
In the Euro area, the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) is used for the purposes of monetary policy. Apart from the individual purposes they serve, the consumer price index (CPI) and the HICP differ in terms of coverage, methodology and weighting. This explains the differences between the CPI and the HICP for Germany. In contrast to the HICP, the CPI also includes household expenditure on owner-occupied housing, games of chance and broadcasting fees. In addition, the HICP product weights are updated annually. Explanatory notes on this matter are available on the website of the Federal Statistical Office together with the HICP results and a methodological paper on the HICP.
Inflation Calculator for personal rate of inflation:
Consumers can use the Personal Inflation Calculator of the Federal Statistical Office to adapt their monthly consumption expenditure on individual product groups according to their own consumption patterns and to calculate their personal inflation rate. In addition, the Price Kaleidoscope gives an overview of the price trend and the weights of various products.
Overall index / subindex | Weighting | Index | Change on same period of previous year | Change on the previous month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
in per mill | % | |||
| Overall index | 1,000.00 | 119.9 | 2.2 | -0.2 |
| Food and non-alcoholic-beverages | 119.04 | 134.4 | 2.4 | 0.2 |
| Food | 104.69 | 134.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Meat and meat products | 22.16 | 129.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Fruit | 11.62 | 122.1 | 3.0 | 0.7 |
| Vegetables | 13.72 | 130.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 35.26 | 124.4 | 4.3 | 0.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 42.25 | 112.7 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 259.25 | 116.3 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Actual net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 68.30 | 108.5 | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| Imputed net rent exclusive of heating expenses | 104.13 | 107.5 | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| Household energy | 43.44 | 148.8 | -1.8 | -0.3 |
| Electricity | 24.50 | 126.4 | -4.1 | -0.1 |
| Gas 1 | 6.07 | 190.4 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| Healting oil 1 | 1.70 | 191.1 | -12.5 | -1.9 |
| Furniture, lighting equipment, appliances and other household equipment | 67.78 | 117.7 | -0.7 | 0.3 |
| Health | 55.49 | 108.3 | 2.8 | 0.1 |
| Transport | 138.22 | 123.8 | 0.3 | -0.9 |
| Motor fuels | 30.46 | 135.5 | -6.6 | 0.1 |
| Supergrade petrol | 23.19 | 132.8 | -5.9 | -0.5 |
| Diesel fuel | 6.92 | 142.4 | -9.2 | 1.1 |
| Communication | 23.35 | 98.4 | -1.6 | -0.1 |
| Recreation and culture | 104.23 | 115.2 | 1.3 | -2.2 |
| Package holidays | 13.22 | 121.3 | 3.7 | -13.2 |
| Education | 9.06 | 116.2 | 5.1 | 0.0 |
| Restaurant and accommodation services | 47.20 | 128.1 | 5.9 | -0.2 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 98.87 | 122.7 | 7.2 | 0.2 |
| Overall index, excluding food and energy 2 | 821.41 | 116.0 | 3.0 | -0.3 |
More information:
Detailed results can be found in the tables on the consumer price index (61111-0004) and (61111-0006) and on the harmonised index of consumer prices (61121-0002) and (61121-0006) in the GENESIS-Online database. Special items shown in Tables (61111-0006) and (61121-0006) contain CPI and HICP results which are used to measure "core inflation". The table "Verbraucherpreisindex – Preisentwicklung für Nahrungsmittel" (only in German) contains information on changes in the prices of individual food products.
Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, has released provisional results on Euro area inflation for November 2024 (available on Eurostat’s website under News > Euro indicators).
Consumer price index results are also available on Dashboard Germany at www.dashboard-deutschland.de (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool (Pulsmesser Wirtschaft) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.
Important information regarding the GENESIS-Online database:
After leaving the beta phase, our database's new user interface has been available as the main interface version since 5 November 2024. The new interface offers faster data retrieval and intuitive table search and customisation options. Changes have also been made to the structure of the machine-readable flat file (CSV) format and the data output format for table downloads. For further details and other important information on the release, please see the info page of the new GENESIS-Online database.
