Return of Weimar? German Inflation Hits Highest Level in Four Decades

Inflation rose to its highest level in over four decades in Germany, as the economic fallout from years of lockdown restrictions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to bite the leading economic power of the European Union.

Germany’s statistics agency Destatis announced on Thursday that consumer prices rose by 7.4 per cent in the month of April compared to the same time last year. The inflation rate is the highest level since 1981 in West Germany, when the country was divided by the Berlin Wall.

The government agency said that fuel costs, which have been steadily rising since last Summer as lockdown restrictions began to ease, have had the largest impact on the soaring inflation in the country.

“Energy prices, in particular, have increased considerably since the war started in Ukraine,” Destatis said per public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Despite the growing energy crisis, the leftist government in Germany has so far refused to back down from its green agenda, upholding a ban on fracking and making preparations to shut down the country’s remaining nuclear power plants. – READ MORE