Press release No. 492 of 23 December 2024

Import prices, November 2024
+0.6% on the same month a year earlier
+0.9% on the previous month 

Export prices, November 2024
+1.2% on the same month a year earlier
+0.3% on the previous month 

WIESBADEN – Import prices were 0.6% higher in November 2024 than in November 2023. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the rate of change was -0.8% in October 2024, and -1.3% in September 2024. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that import prices in November 2024 rose by 0.9% on October 2024.

Export prices in November 2024 were 1.2% higher than in November 2023. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the rate of change was +0.6% in October 2024, and +0.4% in September 2024. Compared with October 2024, export prices were up 0.3% in November 2024. 

Year-on-year increase in import prices slowing due to lower energy prices

The decrease in energy prices of 8.2% compared with the same month of the previous year had the biggest impact on the overall development of import prices in November 2024. When energy prices are excluded, import prices in November 2024 were 1.7% higher than in November 2023. They were up 0.5% compared with October 2024. If only crude oil and mineral oil products are not considered, the import price index was 1.4% above the level of November 2023 and 0.8% higher than in October 2024.

Crude oil imports were 11.6% less expensive than in the same month a year earlier (+0.7% on October 2024). The prices of mineral oil products were down 10.9% on November 2023 (+1.6% on October 2024). Diesel fuels and heating oil (-17.4%) and petrol (-14.6%), in particular, cost less than a year earlier. Petrol prices were down also on October 2024 (-1.6%), whereas the prices of diesel fuels and heating oil increased by 2.5% month on month.

Compared with November 2023, the import prices of natural gas were down 5.1%, but they were up 5.9% on October 2024.

Electricity, in particular, cost 27.2% more than in November 2023 and was 33.3% more expensive than in October 2024. 

Higher prices of consumer goods

The import prices of consumer goods in November 2024 were 3.4% higher than in the same month of the previous year (+0.9% on October 2024). While durable consumer goods barely increased in price compared with November 2023, rising 1.2% year on year (+0.6% on October 2024), the import prices of non-durable consumer goods were 4.0% higher than in November 2023 (+1.0% on October 2024).

In the case of non-durable consumer goods, the prices of food, in particular, were markedly higher (+9.0%) than in November 2023. The price of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery was up by an average of 66.8%, orange juice by 53.3%, poultry meat by 18.4% and milk and milk products by 13.5% compared with November 2023. 

Higher prices also for agricultural goods, intermediate and capital goods

The prices of imported agricultural goods in November 2024 were 8.5% higher than in November 2023 (+2.5% compared with October 2024). Raw cocoa, in particular, was much more expensive than a year earlier (+114.8%); it cost 18.5% more compared with the previous month. The prices of green coffee were up 38.4% on November 2023 and rose 14.9% on October 2024. By contrast, the prices of cucumbers (-36.4%), onions (-31.2%) and live pigs (-13.2%), for example, were down from the previous year. 

The prices of intermediate goods were 1.1% higher than in the same month of the previous year. Compared with the previous month, they increased by 0.4%. 

Capital goods prices were up 0.3% year on year and increased slightly (+0.1%) compared with October 2024.

Price increases especially for exports of consumer goods

In the case of exports, the increase in the prices of capital goods in November 2024 had the biggest influence on the development of prices, with the prices of such goods up 3.3% on November 2023 (+0.4% on October 2024). While durable consumer goods were 1.2% more expensive year on year, the prices of non-durable consumer goods were 3.7% higher than in November 2023. Registering an increase of 183.3%, exports of cocoa paste, cocoa butter, fat and oil and cocoa powder were almost three times more expensive than a year earlier, while the prices of exported butter and dairy spreads were 44.5% higher than in November 2023.

Export prices of agricultural products were up 2.0% on November 2023 (+1.6% on October 2024).

The prices of exported capital goods were also higher than a year earlier (+1.5% on November 2023; +0.2% on October 2024). The price increases for machinery (+2.1%) and motor vehicles and their engines (+2.6%) compared with November 2023 played a key role here.

The prices of exported intermediate goods were 0.9% higher than in the same month of the previous year. Compared with the previous month, they increased slightly by 0.1%.

Energy exports were 10.6% less expensive than in the same month a year earlier, but increased substantially by 7.7% compared with October 2024. The prices of natural gas (-18.5%) and mineral oil products (-11.3%) were considerably lower year on year. Compared with October 2024, exports of natural gas were 8.3% more expensive, however, and the prices of mineral oil products rose by 1.9%.

More information:

All current results are also provided in the statistical reports on the statistics of import and export prices. Long time series are also available in the tables on the index of import prices (61411-0002 and 61411-0006) and index of export prices (61421-0002 and 61421-0006) in the GENESIS-Online database. The results for the period before 2021 are now also available on the new base.

Import price indices 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.