Erfurt (dpa/th) – High energy and food prices pushed inflation in Thuringia above the ten percent mark for the first time this year in October. Consumer prices rose by 10.7 percent compared to the same month last year, as reported by the State Statistical Office in Erfurt on Thursday. A higher value was reported in the Free State only in 1992, when East German rents were gradually adjusted to West levels, and inflation was 11.2 percent.
High inflation rates reduce the purchasing power of consumers because they can afford less for one euro. This can dampen private consumption as an important pillar of the economy. Excluding food and energy, the inflation rate would have been 5.5 percent in October, it said.
Energy prices rose by an average of 39.7 percent compared to October 2021. The strongest increases were in light heating oil (plus 82.0 percent), district heating (plus 72.2 percent) and gas including operating costs (plus 70.9 percent). Fuel prices increased by 21.9 percent. Consumers had to pay 21.1 percent more for food and non-alcoholic beverages than in the same month last year. For example, prices for edible oils and fats increased by 58.3 percent, for eggs and dairy products by 34.6 percent and for vegetables by 25.0 percent.
In September, the inflation rate in Thuringia was 9.9 percent. Household energy prices were up 5.2 percent month-on-month, clothing and footwear prices were up 2.2 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages were up 1.5 percent. On the other hand, it was 2.0 percent cheaper to fill up in October than in September.
