Producer prices rose faster than expected in Germany in May, driven particularly by increases in the cost of intermediate products, the government statistics office reported Wednesday.
The producer price index, which measures the cost of products before they reach the consumer, was up 0.3% in May from the month before, and 1.9% on the year, the Federal Statistics Office said.
Without energy prices, the PPI was up 2.7% on the year, the office said.
Analysts in a Dow Jones Newswires survey expected the PPI to rise by 0.1% on the month and to increase by 1.6% on the year.
The prices of intermediate products increased by 4.8% on the year, the statistics office said.
Within that category, rolled steel prices rose by 16.6% on the year, while iron or steel pipe prices were up by 11.1%. Chemical raw material prices were up by 4.1%.
Energy prices were up by 0.7% in May over April, but were 0.3% lower on the year.