Now it's official: Inflation in Germany was 7.9 percent in May - that was the highest rate of inflation since 1974. The Federal Statistical Office confirmed a corresponding initial estimate on Tuesday.
At the same time, it shared details: Accordingly, prices are rising across the board – but heating oil, natural gas and fuel are the three goods with the highest price increases within the past twelve months.
Even cooking oil could not keep up with a price increase of 38.7 percent.
The price of heating oil has risen by 94.8 percent, by 55.2 percent for natural gas – and by 41 percent for fuel.
Julia Loehr
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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Christian Siedenbiedel
Editor in Business.
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It's no wonder that petrol prices in Germany are causing heated emotions, are a topic on many talk shows and are a concern for politicians of all stripes.
The ideas range from an excess profit tax to a tightening of antitrust law to breaking up the oil companies.
After all, it has now been two weeks since the energy tax on fuel was reduced.
But at least in the perception of many motorists, little of this has reached the consumer.
Super E10 cost 1.93 euros per liter on Monday on a daily average, diesel 2.041 euros per liter.
There is not much evidence of the announcement by some politicians that fuel prices would fall "well below 2 euros".
Ifo Institute attracts attention
Economists said the fuel tax cut could bring inflation down significantly, at least for a few months.
That would have been a welcome relief for consumers.
Jörg Kraemer, the chief economist at Commerzbank, thought it was possible for the inflation rate to fall from 7.9 to 7.1 percent in June and to 7 percent in July and August for these reasons.
Now he is disappointed because so little has happened with fuel: "The inflation rate is unlikely to fall in June."
Politicians and economists are still at odds about the extent to which the fuel rebate introduced by the traffic light coalition at the beginning of June - the tax reduction on diesel and petrol for three months - will actually relieve the burden on citizens.
According to an analysis by the Munich Ifo Institute published on Tuesday, the tank discount is “essentially” passed on to customers.
“In the case of diesel, the filling stations passed it on 100 percent, i.e. a tax reduction of 17 cents per liter.
In the case of super petrol, it was 29 to 30 cents from the 35 cent tax reduction, i.e. 85 percent,” said Florian Neumeier, head of the tax and financial policy research group.
The institute observed the price development in Germany and France in comparison.
Before June 1st, diesel and super were more expensive in Germany than in France,
since the reporting date, fuel has been cheaper in this country.
Since there was no tax cut in France, the institute explains the differences between the two countries with the tank discount.
The Bundeskartellamt, on the other hand, has signaled a certain skepticism about the price policy of the mineral oil companies.
The authorities recently calculated that the average difference between the petrol station prices for Super E5 without taxes and the price of crude oil had recently increased significantly again.
Until February 2022, he had never exceeded 40 cents, since the beginning of the war it had been up to 50 cents.
Since May 27, however, the gap has increased to around 60 cents.
A number of politicians also suspect that corporate profit margins are currently increasing.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) estimates that "about half" of the tank discount is passed on to customers, while the other half remains in the company.