Germany Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) m/m

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is collected monthly for the whole of Germany on the basis of European laws. It covers the prices of constant products, including the excise duties levied on them for all goods and services purchased domestically that are part of private households' consumption expenditure. It serves as a measure of inflation, as a convergence criterion for Europe and as an index for financial instruments.

In addition to the prices collected from catalogs and the Internet but also locally, weightings for different types of goods, business types and the federal states, which are determined from secondary statistics, are also included in the index. For the HICP, an accuracy of 0.1 percentage points is targeted. The basis of prices and weights is adjusted annually, the basis of the index only every ten years.

The provisional values are published shortly before the end of the month, the final values around the middle of the following month. Within Europe, both spatial and temporal comparability is ensured. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, the Consumer Price Index and the Retail Price Index are derived from the same database using different methods.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices m/m reflects a percentage change in the reference month compared to the previous month.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices is an important tool for measuring inflation and monetary stability and serves as a yardstick for wage bargaining and is included in the calculation of GDP. If the index rises, this usually has a positive effect on the currency.