--German June import prices down 0.3% vs May; up 3.6% on year
Frankfurt, July 26 (BridgeNews) - The German annual import price inflation rate slipped to 3.6% in June from 4.0% in May, hitting the lowest inflation level since September 1999, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said Thursday. Import prices slid 0.3% from May, as prices for pork, beef and oil products posted significant monthly falls. The data are below forecasts. A BridgeNews/Fokus Deutschland survey of bank economists had forecast prices would fall 0.1% on the month and rise 3.8% on the year.
Import prices for pork fell 7.4% on the month, beef prices declined 6.3% and oil products cost 4.8% less than in the previous month, with petrol posting a 19.6% drop. On the other hand, import prices for bananas, fresh citrus fruits and raw oil rose 4.9%, 4.8% and 2.5% on the month respectively.
The key annual rises in June occurred in natural gas (44.5%), citrus fruits (30.0%), pork (22.6%), poultry (22.4%) and bananas (20.5%), while prices for petrol, raw coffee, wood and cellulose and beef feel on the year by 18.3%, 16.1%, 15.4% and 6.3% respectively.
Excluding oil and energy products, German June import prices fell 0.3% on the month, and were 3.5% higher than a year ago. German export prices were unchanged in June from May, and were up 1.6% from June 2000.