In Germany, more and more companies are planning to raise prices again, a survey by the Ifo economic institute has shown. At the same time, economists expect a further decline in the inflation rate in the coming months, reports the German Press Agency (dpa).

It is crucial that price increases are planned less frequently in sectors of the economy that are closest to consumers, the institute announced on Monday.

So-called price expectations rose in July from 16.1 to 17.8 points.

Specifically, this means that the percentage share of companies preparing price increases is currently 17.8 points higher than the number of companies wanting to lower prices.

The survey did not include the question of how much prices would rise or fall.

In consumer-related sectors of the economy, the indicator fell by 1.9 to 20 points, the lowest value in more than three years.

In these companies, wages account for a high share of total costs, so they are under particular scrutiny from the monetary authorities, said Ifo expert Sascha Möhrle.

The inflation rate is among the highest in this sector and amounts to almost four percent, due to strong wage growth, Merle explained.

By contrast, the situation is more tense in food retail. Many stores want to raise prices, and the indicator rose from 20.9 to 55.2 points.

In the rest of retail, the indicator fell from 23.3 to 22.7 points.

Source: fenix-magazin.de