By Jörn Bender and Christian Ebner, dpa
Cheap energy and lower food prices drove German inflation down to 1.8% in December, the Federal Statistical Office said on Friday as it confirmed preliminary figures published earlier this month.
Consumer prices rose by 2.2% on average last year, the Wiesbaden-based agency confirmed, unchanged from 2024.
Pressure on household budgets eased in December, with the inflation rate dropping below the European Central Bank’s 2% target for the first time since September 2024.
While the price of services such as public transport and insurance rose 3.5%, food prices were only 0.8% higher than in December 2024, with key items such as butter and olive oil becoming cheaper while beef and chicken rose by 14.1% and 6.3% respectively.
Energy prices were 1.3% lower in December 2025 and 2.4% lower in the full year compared to 2024.
Surging energy prices linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine led German inflation to soar to 6.9% in 2022 and 5.9% in 2023.
The rate of inflation has since stabilized, and the Munich-based ifo Institute expects inflation to remain at 2.2% in 2026 before inching up to 2.3% the following year.
However, core inflation, a measure which excludes volatile prices of food and energy, remained high at 2.8% in 2025.
In addition, higher prices for public transport and a rising minimum wage could drive further inflation next year, the agency said.
