Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Inflation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania reached a high in May. The statistical office gave the inflation rate for the state on Tuesday in Schwerin at 8.3 percent. The jump in prices compared to the same month last year was even greater in the north-east than the national average. In the previous week, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported a 7.9 percent increase in the cost of living across Germany based on preliminary data.
Energy continues to be the main driver of inflation. According to the Statistics Office, consumers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had to pay 80.2 percent more for heating oil in May than a year ago. In the case of heating oil and motor fuels, the price increase totaled 51.3 percent. Electricity was 28.7 percent more expensive, gas increased by 23.3 percent, as the office further determined.
In the supermarket, too, consumers had to dig deeper into their pockets. The prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 10.7 percent over the year in the north-east. According to the statistics office, the biggest price jumps were for flour at 70.8 percent and butter at 46.7 percent. Eggs rose 30.6 percent, meat 16.2 percent and potatoes 14.3 percent. Prices in hotels and restaurants rose by an average of 10.2 percent.
In the current year, inflation in Germany was well over seven percent in May for the third month in a row. Economists do not expect that the price level will relax quickly – on the contrary. In view of the unabated rise in energy and food prices, more and more consumers are concerned about how they are going to make a living.
