According to a preliminary estimate by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), annual inflation in the country accelerated from 5.1% in February to 7.3% in March. A similar inflation rate was a record for the entire history of Destatis observations. Until that moment, the highest inflation rate was recorded in March-May 1992 – then the figure was 6.2%. On a monthly basis, German consumer prices rose 2.5%. Analysts predicted annual inflation at 6.3%, and monthly – 1.6%. At the same time, consumer prices in the country according to EU standards (harmonized consumer price index) accelerated growth over the year from 5.5% in February to 7.6% in March. And in March they grew from 0.9% to 2.5%. Analysts had expected figures at 6.7% and 1.8%, respectively. At the same time, experts do not exclude the possibility that the rise in prices in Germany could reach 10% if the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine continues to gain momentum.
