German Import Prices Fall 1.4% In July

(RTTNews) - Germany's import prices declined for the fourth straight month in July due to falling energy prices, Destatis reported Friday.

Import prices dropped 1.4 percent in July from a year ago, the same as in the previous month. Economists had forecast an annual drop of 1.2 percent.

The sharp decrease in energy prices had the biggest impact on overall import prices, Destatis said. Energy prices plunged 12.5 percent. Excluding energy, import prices were down 0.2 percent from July 2024.

Import prices of intermediate goods declined 1.5 percent, and that of capital goods slid 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, imported prices of consumer goods grew 1.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, import prices fell 0.4 percent after remaining flat in June.

Further, data showed that export price inflation softened to 0.6 percent in July from 0.7 percent a month ago.

Separate official data showed that retail sales declined 1.5 percent monthly in July, in contrast to a 1.0 percent recovery in June. Food sales contracted 1.8 percent, and those of non-food sales slid by 0.7 percent. The annual retail sales growth eased notably to 1.9 percent from 4.9 percent.