German Import Prices Post 22-year Decline

As the cost of energy plunged further, German import prices posted in March their biggest drop in 22 years, figures released on April 27 by the national statistics office showed.

Import prices shed 7.1% from March 2008. On a monthly basis, prices fell by 0.4% continuing a decline that began in November and was sharper than expected.

A sharp drop in energy prices was responsible for the result, as the cost of crude oil was 44.5% lower than a year earlier and petroleum products in general down by 45.3%.

When energy products were stripped out of the calculation, import prices showed a one-year gain of 1.8%, Destatis said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009