By Xavier Fontdegloria
Germany’s annual inflation rate ticked up in January after easing the previous month as the government’s one-off subsidy for energy bills expired at year-end .
Consumer prices rose 8.7% on year in January measured by national standards, confirming the preliminary estimate, up from the 8.1% increase recorded in December, data from the German Federal Statistics Office Destatis showed Wednesday.
The uptick in inflation was driven by higher energy prices, which rose 23.1% on year in January, accelerating from December’s 20.3% increase.
“The main reason of the [energy] price increase observed in January 2023 probably was the end of the December immediate assistance,” Destatis said, referring to the government’s one-off discount for utility bills in December.
Food inflation was broadly unchanged at 20.2%, the data showed.
Germany’s core inflation–the rate which excludes the more-volatile categories of food and energy–stood at 5.6% in January, up from 5.2% in December.
Consumer prices rose 9.2% on year in January measured by European Union harmonized standards, Destatis said, also confirming the preliminary estimate.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
This story was corrected at 0755 GMT to reflect the that Germany’s core inflation stood at 5.6% in January, up from 5.2% in December. The original misstated the month for the 5.2% as Janauary.
