A customer shops at a supermarket in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
According to Destatis, inflation in Europe's largest economy is still at a high level and food prices registered particularly sharp increases last year.
BERLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Germany's annual average inflation rate in 2023 decreased to 5.9 percent from the previous year's 6.9 percent, a record high since reunification in 1990, said the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday.
Inflation in Europe's largest economy is "still at a high level," said Ruth Brand, president of Destatis, in a statement. "Food prices registered particularly sharp increases."
A customer shops at a store in Berlin, Germany, on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)
Although government measures partially cushioned the rise in energy prices, they still rose 5.3 percent year on year in 2023, according to Destatis.
At the beginning of 2024, the inflation rate is "likely to be influenced by tax and fiscal measures," the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) said in its monthly economic report on Monday.
Despite inflation-reducing factors such as falling producer and import prices, the tight monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) and wage settlements will "continue to dominate over the rest of the year," BMWK added.
People take pictures at a shopping mall in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)■
