Overview

• Destatis’ flash estimate shows consumer prices up 2.4% year over year and 0.2% month over month, with the harmonised index also at 2.4%.
• Services prices rose 3.4% and food 2.1%, while energy fell 0.7% from a year earlier, providing only a modest offset.
• Core inflation edged up to 2.8%, indicating persistent underlying pressures beyond food and energy.
• Regional rates diverged, with Hesse at 2.6% and North Rhine-Westphalia at 2.3%—the latter’s highest this year—highlighted by sharp increases in items such as fruit.
• The 2.4% outcome topped economists’ 2.3% consensus and followed August’s 2.2% pace after 2.0% in June and July.