Ukraine war has an impact
The Federal Statistical wholesale prices for the month of March have just been published by the Federal Statistical Office. Year-on-year, it is an increase of 22.6 per cent after 16.6 per cent in February. This was the highest year-on-year increase since the calculation of wholesale prices began in 1962. The previous month’s comparison also showed the highest increase since the calculation of wholesale price indices began in March 2022, with an increase of 6.9 per cent compared to February 2022. Since the survey was conducted on the cut-off date of 5 March 2022, the first consequences of the Russian attack on Ukraine are also likely to be visible in the results, according to the statisticians.
Here are more details from the statisticians:
The high year-on-year increase in wholesale prices in March 2022 continues to be due to sharply higher prices for many raw materials and intermediate goods. The largest influence on the year-on-year rate of change in the wholesale price index in March 2022 was the price increase in the wholesale of petroleum products (+70.2%).
There were also particularly strong year-on-year price increases in the wholesale of solid fuels (+61.9%) and ores, metals and semi-finished metal products (+55.8%). Prices were also considerably higher in wholesale trade in cereals, raw tobacco, seeds and animal feeds (+43.0%), in raw and sawn timber (+42.5%) and in chemical products (+40.1%). Wholesale prices for milk, milk products, eggs, edible oils and fats rose by 22.6%.
Highest change in the previous month since the beginning of the calculation of the wholesale price indices
The price increase in the wholesale of petroleum products (+26.5 % compared to February 2022) had the highest influence on the exceptionally high rate of change of the wholesale price index of +6.9 % in March 2022, also in the previous month comparison . Prices in the wholesale trade of solid fuels (+18.3%), agricultural raw materials and live animals (+18.0%) and iron, steel, iron and steel semi-finished products (+17.1%) were also significantly higher in March 2022 than in February 2022.
