Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices
Inflation update
In April 2025, the inflation rate in Germany – measured as the percentage change in the HICP compared to the same month of the previous year – decreased slightly to 2.2 %. Prices for services, especially travel services, increased sharply. In contrast, food prices rose less than in the previous month. Core inflation (HICP excluding energy and food) increased noticeably to 3.1 %.
The next update will be on 30 May 2025 (HICP flash estimate for May 2025).
| Item | Year-on-year percentage change | Average1 (%) | Weighting (%) | ||||
| Apr 25 | Mar 25 | Feb 25 | 1999 – 2024 | 2025 | |||
| HICP (Germany) | + 2.2 | + 2.3 | + 2.6 | + 2.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Energy | − 5.3 | − 2.6 | − 1.3 | + 4.2 | 9.0 | ||
| HICP excluding energy | + 3.1 | + 3.0 | + 3.1 | + 1.7 | 91.0 | ||
| Food2 | + 3.1 | + 3.3 | + 2.9 | + 2.7 | 16.6 | ||
| HICP excluding energy and food | + 3.1 | + 2.8 | + 3.1 | + 1.5 | 74.5 | ||
| Industrial goods3 | + 0.8 | + 0.8 | + 0.6 | + 1.1 | 28.3 | ||
| Services | + 4.5 | + 4.1 | + 4.7 | + 1.8 | 46.2 | ||
| CPI (Germany) | + 2.1 | + 2.2 | + 2.3 | + 1.8 |
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| 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.
The Federal Statistical Office usually publishes the final figures for Germany (excluding special aggregates and core rates) a few days before Eurostat publishes the final figures for the euro area (including all special aggregates and core rates for the euro area countries). Unlike the headline rate, the data on the special aggregates and core rates for Germany should still be regarded as provisional during this interim period.