Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices

Inflation update

In June 2026, the inflation rate in Germany – measured as the percentage change in the HICP compared with the same month of the previous year – declined to 2.4 %, according to official estimates, from 2.7 % in May. Energy inflation fell markedly. Services inflation remained virtually unchanged, while inflation for industrial goods excluding energy and for food declined slightly. Core inflation – HICP excluding energy and food – declined slightly from 2.6 % to 2.5 %.

The next update will be on 17 July 2026 (final HICP figures for June 2026).

Item	Year-on-year percentage change			Average¹ (%)	Weighting (%)
Item	Jun 26	May 26	Apr 26	1999 −⁠ 2025	2026
HICP (Germany)	+2.4	+2.7	+2.9	+2.0	100.0
Energy	+2.7	+5.5	+8.9	+4.0	8.9
HICP excluding energy	+2.3	+2.4	+2.3	+1.7	91.1
Food²	+1.4	+1.5	+2.2	+2.7	16.2
HICP excluding energy and food	+2.5	+2.6	+2.3	+1.5	74.9
Industrial goods³	+1.1	+1.2	+1.0	+1.0	27.6
Services	+3.3	+3.4	+3.0	+1.8	47.4
CPI (Germany)	+2.3	+2.6	+2.9	+1.9
Sources: Federal Statistical Office, Eurostat, Bundesbank calculation. 1 Long-term geometric average. 2 Including alcohol and tobacco. 3 Excluding energy.

Background

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is the key measure of price stability in the euro area. It measures the average change in prices of all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. The year-on-year percentage change in the HICP serves as the basis for assessing price stability in the euro area. Annual HICP year-on-year percentage change is here also referred to as the inflation rate. The euro area HICP is derived from the HICPs of the euro area countries.

As a general rule, the HICP is calculated on a monthly basis for euro area countries using data from the respective national consumer price indices (CPIs) and relying on harmonised concepts and methods. The Federal Statistical Office calculates the HICP data for Germany.

In Germany, the main difference between the HICP and the national CPI is that the former, in accordance with the European methodological guidelines, does not include owner-occupied housing costs. As a result, services have a smaller weight in the HICP than in the CPI. Accordingly, divergent price trends for goods and services may have disparate effects on the HICP and the CPI.