Price level in Germany 6.8 pct above EU average

Source: Xinhua | 2020-06-23

The price level of private consumer spending in Germany in 2019 had been 6.8 percent above the average of the 27 member states of the European Union (EU), the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Monday.

However, overall prices of goods and services in most of Germany's immediate neighboring countries were even higher than in Germany, Destatis noted. In Austria and France, for example, the price level was 13 to 14 percent above EU average.

"In retail, the price level in Germany is relatively low compared to most neighboring countries because the intensity of competition in the retail sector is comparatively high, which puts pressure on margins," Klaus-Juergen Gern from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) told Xinhua on Monday.

In addition, excise duties such as value-added tax, mineral oil tax, tobacco tax were "often lower" in Germany, added Gern. The same would apply for rents which were comparatively moderate in Germany, with the exception of a few metropolitan regions.

According to Destatis, only in two of Germany's neighbors -- Poland and the Czech Republic -- had cost of living, which includes private expenditure on food, housing and energy, that were "markedly lower."

The "most expensive" country within the EU was Denmark, where the price level was 41.3 percent above EU level, according to Destatis based on preliminary results on purchasing power parities and comparative price levels published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).

As in previous years, Bulgaria remained the cheapest country in the EU as consumers had to pay around half as much as the EU average. The price level in Romania was also 45.1 percent below the EU average, Destatis noted.