Especially in retail
IFO: Inflation is ebbing “very slowly”.
06/30/2023, 12:17 p.m
The inflation rate is still high – and will probably remain so for a while. At least that’s what the IFO Institute expects after a survey of companies. But there are differences from industry to industry.
The Munich IFO Institute expects that the inflation rate for consumers will “decrease very slowly”. The IFO published its latest survey on companies’ price expectations. Accordingly, the price wave will slowly subside in the coming months.
In June, companies’ price expectations fell to 16.3 points after 19.1 points in May. The points indicate what percentage of the companies want to increase their prices on balance. However, the institute does not ask about the amount of the planned price change.
According to the information, price expectations fell particularly sharply in the retail trade with food and beverages. “The pace of price increases should gradually slow down there,” said the IFO. With many service providers, however, such as in the catering trade or travel agencies, price expectations are falling “only slowly”.
Even buyers of consumer electronics could now expect price reductions. Here the number collapsed, from plus 24.1 to minus 1.5 points, as the IFO explained. In construction, prices should therefore also continue to fall.
The industry also wants to lower prices
According to the IFO, “significant price reductions” are also becoming apparent in individual industrial sectors – “but it will probably take a little time before they are passed on to consumers,” said IFO economics chief Timo Wollmershäuser. The institute expects price reductions, for example, from paper manufacturers, in the chemical industry, for rubber and plastic goods or for printed products.
“For the first time” in a long time, the manufacturers of food and feed are also planning price reductions. According to the IFO, manufacturers of beverages, clothing or cars are planning price increases.