German final August HICP was unrevised from the flash readings at +2.0% Y/Y (+2.6% July) and -0.2% M/M (+0.5% July). The final reading of CPI was also unrevised at +1.9% Y/Y (+2.3% July) and -0.1% M/M (+0.3% July). Core CPI printed at +2.9% Y/Y (+2.8% July), the lowest rate since February 2022.
- Overall, the data confirms the main conclusions from the flash reading - services remain sticky and energy prices were behind the drop in headline (goods contributed 0.46pp less to headline CPI in August than in July, and out of that, 0.33pp came from energy).
- Developments within the services subcategories were mixed, as projected by MNI after state-level data: Communication and recreation & culture inflation declined, while education and hospitality saw some acceleration. The mixed-weighted transport category saw a drop on the back of lower fuel prices. See the table for details.
MNI's inflation breadth tracker (see chart below) shows disinflation stalling in the high-inflation categories in August, with the percentage of ECOICOP (European classification of individual consumption according to purpose, a standardized category split) items printing at or above 6% rising for the first time since February 2023, to 12.5% from 11.8% in July. In the low-inflation categories, disinflation appears to be progressing, if slowly, with the percentage of categories printing below 2% Y/Y increasing to 53.1% from 52.0% in July.
