Dow Jones Newswires: German producer prices in August posted highest increase on record

By Maria Martinez

Germany’s producer prices rose strongly in August from a year earlier, driven by higher energy prices, posting the biggest increase ever recorded, the German statistics office Destatis said.

Producer prices rose 45.8% on year last month, Destatis said Tuesday. This followed a 37.2% increase in July and a 32.7% rise in June.

Compared with the preceding month, the producer price index rose 7.9% in August, also the biggest month-on-month increase ever recorded.

Energy prices rose 139.0% from a year earlier, Destatis said. Strong gains in the price of electricity, up 174.9% on year, were the major factor behind the increase, it said.

The PPI excluding energy rose 14.0% on year, according to Destatis.

Prices of intermediate goods increased 17.5% from a year earlier. Significant price increases were recorded by metals, which were 19.9% up on August, Destatis said.

Prices of nondurable consumer goods increased by 16.9% on year, prices of durable consumer goods rose 10.9% and capital-goods prices increased by 7.8%, Destatis’s data showed.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com