Consumer prices are surging in Europe’s top economy.
The German statistics office Destatis has reported another jump in inflation in May as food and energy prices continue to climb. Annual inflation in Europe’s top economy has reached 7.9%, the highest level since the 1973 oil crisis.
The surge comes amid the conflict in Ukraine and the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia. Soaring energy prices have had a considerable impact on inflation since late February, when Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, Destatis said on Monday.
“Another factor with an upward effect on prices is interruptions in supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the agency said.
Energy prices reportedly rose 38.3% in May year-on-year, while food prices posted an 11.1% leap.
Consumer prices in May increased 0.9% by national standards and 1.1% by EU-harmonized standards, according to the data. Destatis is expected to publish its final results for the month on June 14.
German population is a frugal lot and saved a lot in the past (like Japanese). Their new leaders were exploiting them with quantitative easing anen with unnecessary sanctions pushed on them by US. Germans will be forced to import as well as manufacture weapons as part of NATO. So there is little chance for inflation to dampen. Germany willingly pushed itself backward due lack of neutrality and becoming a puppet to US. They also had millions of refugees who are not easy to integrate. Neo-nazis are going to gain strength in Germany, which is going to prove hard to eliminate or control. Germany has crossed the inflection point and it is going to decline.
I don’t feel sorry for them. They voted for socialist leaders and their policies, and this is what they get.
They are in for a hard time, they have an overpopulated country of people used to living a high standard of living, their pension funds are broke and they rely on other countries for food and energy. They were warned about their reliance on Russia by President Trump but they were too busy denigrating him to listen.
Maybe now the general public of Germany will wake up.
The sanctions are supposed to hurt Russia, in reality, they are only hurting German people while Russia is then put in a situation of finding new markets, which they have done. So, all the sanctions have done is strengthen Russia rather than weaken them.
A decade earlier to the actual German unification, USSR suggested reunification under the condition that it will remain neutral like Austria and will not join NATO. Americans did not allow West germany to take the offer from USSR. Had it happended, Germans would have shaped Europe in a different way and it would have been a much more peaceful continent.