2024-09-03 01:17:22
Fewer and fewer German companies are willing to raise the prices of the goods or services they offer. This is according to the data from a survey among businesses in Germany by the Munich Economic Institute “Ifo”, reports BTA.
The general index of “Ifo”, which reflects the price expectations of German companies, decreased to 16.3 points in August after 17.6 points in July. The indicator is decreasing mainly because of the expectations of a number of industrial companies and firms in the business services sector that they will not increase the prices of their goods and services.
And among companies in the food retail sector, expectations are for a reduction in prices. The indicator, which reflects their “price sentiment”, fell to 49.9 points from 53.8 points in July (on a seasonally adjusted basis).
“Overall, inflation in the coming months is likely to remain below the target level of 2 percent set by the European Central Bank (ECB). In particular, consumers are using significantly cheaper energy products than a year ago,” the head of the Department for economic forecasts of “Ifo” Timo Volmershauser.
The largest number of German companies that expect to raise their prices is from the hotel and restaurant sector. The index, which reflects “their price expectations”, rose to 37.6 points in August from 26.7 points (seasonally adjusted) in the previous period, the Munich-based institute said.
For their part, companies from the field of consumer goods and services have announced that they plan to raise their prices. The index, which reflects their “price expectations”, rose to 25.2 points from 20 points reported in July.
The attitudes are similar among construction companies, where the corresponding price index increased to 3.3 points compared to 0.9 points in July (seasonally adjusted).