WIESBADEN -- September 01, 2026 -- German consumers paid 2.9% more for goods and services in August 2026 than they did a year earlier, largely driven by a sharp jump in energy costs, according to preliminary figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Prices also rose 0.2% compared to July 2026. The agency, based in Wiesbaden, said it will publish final results for August on September 10, 2026.
Energy Costs Keep Climbing
Energy prices rose 10.5% year-over-year in August, extending a rapid acceleration that started earlier in the summer. In July, energy costs had climbed 8.3% compared with July 2025; in June, the increase was just 3.4% against June 2025. That pace has more than tripled in two months, squeezing household budgets on heating, fuel and electricity bills.
Core Prices Stay More Moderate
Strip out food and energy — the categories economists track separately as core inflation — and prices rose a more modest 2.4% over the past year. The gap between that figure and the 2.9% headline rate shows how much of August's price pressure came specifically from energy markets rather than everyday grocery or retail spending.
Calculator Lets Shoppers Check Their Own Rate
Destatis also offers a personal inflation calculator that lets you enter your own monthly spending across categories like food, housing and transport to see how your individual price increases stack up against the national average. Because households don't all spend the same share of their budget on energy or groceries, the tool can produce a rate that looks quite different from the official 2.9% figure.
Two Indexes, Same Underlying Data
Alongside the national Consumer Price Index, Destatis calculates a Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices used for comparisons across the eurozone and by European policymakers to track price stability. Both measures matched in August, each showing +2.9% annually and +0.2% monthly, though they differ in scope, methodology and weighting. Since January 2026, the harmonized index has used a new base year of 2025=100 following a broader methodology overhaul.