How long will inflation stay this high? According to the ifo Institute, it is to be expected that the price increases will ease off in the coming weeks. Some dealers even want to reduce the prices by the majority.
According to a survey by the Ifo Institute, the wave of price increases in Germany will probably ebb somewhat in the summer. The barometer for the so-called price expectations in the next three months fell from 21.5 to 19.0 points in May, as the Munich researchers announced in their monthly company survey.
The figures indicate what percentage of companies want to increase their prices on balance. The price expectations of German companies have now fallen to their lowest level in two years.
“Inflation rate will fall only very slowly”
The value has also fallen in the retail trade with food and luxury goods, but remains at a very high level at 63.2 points, according to the Economic Research Institute. “The inflation rate for consumers will therefore only drop very slowly,” said Ifo economic chief Timo Wollmershäuser. Because even with many service providers, the price expectations declined only slowly. Wollmershäuser cited gastronomy and travel agencies as examples.
In retail, price expectations also fell overall – particularly sharply among bicycle dealers, who had been struggling with delivery bottlenecks for a long time. “Most of these companies are planning price cuts,” said the ifo Institute. Clients can also count on this during construction.
Clearer signals from industry
Price expectations in industry fell significantly. Price reductions can therefore be expected from paper manufacturers, in the chemical industry, for rubber and plastic goods, for glass, ceramics and textiles. “But it will be some time before this gets through to the consumer,” says Wollmershäuser.
The balance of price expectations is obtained by subtracting the percentage of companies that want to lower their prices from the percentage of companies that want to raise their prices. If all the companies surveyed intended to increase their prices, it would be plus 100 points. If everyone wanted to lower their prices, it would be minus 100. The balance has been seasonally adjusted. The ifo Institute does not ask about the amount of the planned price change.