In September, German inflation was at its highest level in more than a quarter of a century, primarily driven by higher energy prices no longer dampened by popular relief measures.

The federal statistics office said that consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries (HICP), surged by 10.9 per cent over the year. Apparently, it was the highest reading since comparable data going back to 1996.

Data also says that Germany’s non-harmonised inflation rate in September increased to 10 per cent, the highest since the early 1950s. The increase was due to heightened costs for energy – 43.9 per cent higher compared with September last year- after a cheap transport ticket offer and a fuel tax cut expired at the end of August.

Increasing energy prices prompted by declining gas supplies from Russia have caused inflation rates not seen in decades, with the massive loss in consumer purchasing power adding to the likelihood that a recession is on the way. Citing surging gas prices, four leading German economic institutes nearly halved their spring economic growth forecast for Europe’s largest economy this year. They cut their 2023 projection to -0.4 per cent from 3.1 per cent.

As per a survey issued by the HDE trade association, German consumers have started changing their shopping behaviour due to the rise in energy costs. About 46 per cent of the consumers said that they had stopped buying certain products as a result, and 60 per cent took advantage of offers when buying groceries.