Inflation in Germany continued to rise and reached 7.9 percent in May.

The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced this on Monday after an initial estimate.

In April, the inflation rate was still 7.4 percent.

Christian Siedenbiedel

Editor in Business.

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The figures from the state statistical offices, for example from North Rhine-Westphalia, reveal more details about what has become more expensive.

"The renewed increase in the inflation rate is driven by the slightly higher oil prices in May, after a small correction in April - and above all by higher food prices," says economist Holger Schmieding from Bankhaus Berenberg.

"Putin's war is hitting consumers even harder than before."

Grilled food is also becoming more expensive

The price increase for food accelerated from 10.2 percent in April to 12.7 percent in May compared to the previous year.

Edible fats and oils even went up by 40.3 percent.

But consumers also had to dig deeper into their pockets for other foods.

"The fact that meat and meat products are 17.5 percent more expensive is likely to spoil the fun of the barbecue season for some consumers," says Schmieding.

In the case of fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, the rise in prices has slowed somewhat.

"Healthier nutrition seems to be getting a little less expensive, since we are less dependent on Russia and Ukraine there than we are for grain, animal feed and cooking oils," says Schmieding.

Household energy rose by 40.1 percent, while fuel prices accelerated to 40.5 percent after 37.4 percent in April.

Aside from food and energy, the picture is mixed, says Schmieding.

After a strong Easter travel season compared to the previous year, the upward trend in prices for package tours largely normalized in May.

The inflation rate for clothing fell from 3.7 to 1.6 percent.

On the other hand, the delivery bottlenecks for durable consumer goods showed up with a price increase of 7.4 percent compared to the previous year after 6.8 percent in April.

There were significant differences in the individual federal states.

Inflation has already passed the eight percent mark in several countries.

In Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Hesse, consumer prices increased by between 8.0 and 8.4 percent compared to the same month last year, as the state statistical offices announced on Monday.

In Baden-Württemberg, the inflation rate was 7.4 percent.

What's next in June?

Several political interventions are pending in Germany in June and it is at least possible that these could dampen inflation somewhat in the short term.

As of June 1st, the energy tax on fuel is to be reduced for three months, and there are also to be cheap 9-euro tickets for the train.

"The tank discount and other interventions should ensure that the inflation rate in Germany does not continue to rise in the coming months," says economist Schmieding.

Jörg Krämer from Commerzbank calculates: "According to estimates by the federal government, the 9-euro ticket costs 2.5 billion euros - private households should be relieved by the same amount." Accordingly, the 9-euro ticket should reduce inflation in the three months of its validity by around half a percentage point, says the economist.

“If the petroleum companies pass the tax cut on petrol and diesel on to consumers, inflation should fall by around 0.4 percentage points,” he says: “All in all, the €9 ticket and the tax cuts on fuel should keep inflation down for three months long by almost one percentage point.”