By Staff, Agencies

German import prices surged by 10.4% year-on-year in September, recording their sharpest annual increase since November 2022, as the war in the Middle East pushed energy costs higher, official data showed Friday.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, import prices also increased by 2.1% compared with August, accelerating from annual rises of 8.3% in August and 6.8% in July.

The escalation of the Iran war had its greatest impact on energy imports, whose prices jumped 61.8% compared with September 2025 and 14.5% from the previous month.

Significant annual increases were recorded across all major energy categories, including electricity, which rose 96.2%, mineral oil products by 81.3%, crude oil by 59.3%, natural gas by 53.9% and hard coal by 25.1%.

Within the mineral oil products category, prices for lubricating oils, aviation fuel, diesel and heating oil doubled compared with the same period last year.

Excluding energy, import prices increased by 5.5% year-on-year and 0.5% month-on-month.

Prices of imported intermediate goods climbed 11.1% annually, largely driven by a 26.8% increase in non-ferrous metals. Copper prices rose 37.9%, aluminum increased 23.4% and precious metals climbed 22.1%.

Imported capital goods became 4.5% more expensive compared with September 2025, while consumer goods recorded a more modest increase of 0.2%.

In contrast, agricultural import prices declined by 0.9% year-on-year. The decreases were particularly pronounced for live pigs, which fell 34.9%, raw cocoa by 21.2% and green coffee by 15.2%.

Export prices also recorded substantial increases, rising 5.3% annually in September, their strongest growth since February 2023. On a monthly basis, export prices increased by 0.6%.

The impact of the Iran war was also reflected in export costs, with energy export prices jumping 58.3% year-on-year and 9.2% compared with August.

Export prices for mineral oil products increased 74.1% annually, while aviation turbine fuel surged 114.3% and natural gas rose 31.7%.

Meanwhile, export prices for intermediate goods, which represent a significant share of Germany's total exports alongside capital goods, increased by 7.2% compared with the previous year.

Agricultural export prices also recorded growth, rising 6.7% year-on-year and 2.8% from the previous month.