For the first time this year, the inflation rate is rising again.

Coffee, chocolate, fruit – rising prices for many food items have pushed inflation in Germany back above the two percent mark. In August, consumer prices were 2.2 percent higher than in the same month last year, as confirmed by the Federal Statistical Office. The Wiesbaden-based statisticians had calculated an inflation rate of 2.0 percent for both June and July.

"The inflation rate has increased slightly for the first time this year," said Ruth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office. Economists predict that people in Germany will have to prepare for inflation rates above the two percent mark in the coming months. Prices rose by 0.1 percent from July to August 2025. An inflation rate of around two percent is expected for the year as a whole.

The higher the inflation rate, the lower people's purchasing power: They can then afford less for one euro. Although the major wave of price increases that swept through Germany after the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has abated for the time being, inflation is more persistent than expected: Core inflation, excluding the volatile prices of food and energy, has been at 2.7 percent in this country for three months now.

In August, people in Germany had to pay 2.5 percent more for food than a year earlier. Coffee (plus 22.8 percent) and chocolate (plus 21.3 percent) saw above-average price increases. Fruit prices also rose (plus 7.1 percent), while vegetables were cheaper than a year earlier (minus 1.1 percent). Consumers had to pay significantly less for potatoes (minus 17.3 percent) and sugar (minus 29.2 percent).

Prices for services rose by 3.1 percent, as in July. The increase in prices for passenger transport (up 11.1 percent) and insurance (up 6.4 percent) is partly due to higher labor costs, which providers add to their prices. International flights, on the other hand, cost 8.2 percent less in the summer month of August than a year earlier.

According to the Federal Office's calculations, energy prices were 2.4 percent cheaper in August than a year earlier. However, energy prices fell much more significantly in August 2024. Year-on-year, this therefore appears to be a price increase—a base effect that drives up the inflation rate.