Inflation update

In March 2026, Germany’s inflation rate – measured as the year-on-year percentage change in the HICP – increased, according to official estimates, sharply to 2.8 %, from 2.0 % in February. Energy inflation rose vigorously. Food, non-energy industrial goods and also services inflation moved sideways. Thus, core inflation (HICP excluding energy and food) remained at 2.5 %.

The next update will be on 16 April 2026 (final HICP figures for March 2026).

Background

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is the key measure of price stability in the euro area. It measures the average change in prices of all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. The year-on-year percentage change in the HICP serves as the basis for assessing price stability in the euro area. Annual HICP year-on-year percentage change is here also referred to as the inflation rate. The euro area HICP is derived from the HICPs of the euro area countries.

As a general rule, the HICP is calculated on a monthly basis for euro area countries using data from the respective national consumer price indices (CPIs) and relying on harmonised concepts and methods. The Federal Statistical Office calculates the HICP data for Germany.

In Germany, the main difference between the HICP and the national CPI is that the former, in accordance with the European methodological guidelines, does not include owner-occupied housing costs. As a result, services have a smaller weight in the HICP than in the CPI. Accordingly, divergent price trends for goods and services may have disparate effects on the HICP and the CPI.

The data are usually taken from Eurostat. However, if the Federal Statistical Office provides a more up-to-date estimate, this is used as the most recent data point. Eurostat’s annual HICP rates may differ from those of the Federal Statistical Office due to different rounding procedures for index levels.