Record Jump in German Producer Prices Adds to Gloomy Outlook
BERLIN—German producer prices jumped at the fastest pace on record in July, underscoring the gloomy outlook for Europe’s largest economy, which is stuck in a stranglehold of soaring costs and weakening growth due to the Ukraine war.
Producer prices—a leading indicator for inflation—surged 37.2 percent on the year, the biggest rise since records began in 1949, the federal statistics office said on Friday. The month-on-month rise, 5.3 percent, was also the highest on record.
“The outlook for the further development [of the economy] is currently noticeably gloomy,” the finance ministry said in its August monthly report, published on Friday, adding that it was marked by “a high degree of uncertainty.”…