German import prices post biggest annual rise since 1980

BERLIN (Reuters) – German import prices rose by 21.7% in October from the same month in the previous year, recording their biggest annual rise since January 1980, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday.

Higher energy costs drove the rise. In October 2021, energy imports were 141.0% more expensive than in the same month a year earlier.

On the month, import prices rose by 3.8% in October.

A Reuters poll had pointed to a rise of 2.1% on the month and an increase of 19.6% on the year.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Riham Alkousaa)