Sunday, February 07, 2021
Electricity, fuel, heating oil
Energy prices rise sharply in January
The low energy prices keep inflation in Germany close to zero for a long time. That could be over now. At the beginning of the year, the total costs for gas, heating oil, electricity and fuel are rising faster than they have been for a long time.
For households in Germany, energy prices rose sharply at the beginning of the new year. From December to January, the average costs for heating, electricity and fuel rose by almost 7 percent according to calculations by the comparison portal Verivox. This is the strongest increase within a month in the past ten years, according to the analysis submitted to the German press agency.
The total energy costs for a model household were therefore 3429 euros per year in December 2020. In January 2021, the same amount of energy had already cost 3,665 euros. That corresponds to a price increase of 6.9 percent within one month. The main price drivers are the expiry of the temporary VAT reduction, the introduction of the CO2 tax on fossil fuels and increased wholesale prices. In the wake of the corona pandemic, they initially sagged significantly and are now moving again.
Compared to December 2020, according to Verivox, heating oil rose by 12 percent and gas by 5 percent. Since more households heat with gas than with heating oil, heating costs have increased by 7.2 percent on a volume-weighted average. At the gas station, the average costs would have increased by 10 percent. Petrol has risen by 9.8 percent compared to the month, diesel by 11.2 percent. On average, this results in an increase of 10.2 percent. In terms of electricity, there is an increase of 2.5 percent.
Over the year as a whole, however, household energy costs have fallen. On the basis of preliminary figures, the Federal Statistical Office has determined a decline of 2.3 percent for household energy and fuels for January 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year. However, this slowed the price decline significantly. In December, energy still cost 6.0 percent less than a year earlier, in November 7.7 percent.
When it comes to heating, there was also the fact that January 2021 was comparatively cold. According to the Internet portal Check24, the heating requirement was therefore 17 percent higher than in January 2020. The costs for a household with gas heating have therefore increased by 18 percent. Those who heat with oil have saved 0.8 percent because of the lower prices compared to January of the previous year, according to the analysis.
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