High inflation makes the German people feel "painful pain"

Xinhua News Agency, Frankfurt, August 3 (International Observation) High inflation made the German people feel "painful pain"

Xinhua News Agency reporter Shan Weiyi

Since the beginning of this year, due to the superposition of multiple factors such as the new crown epidemic, geographical conflict, energy and supply chain crisis, German energy and food prices have continued to soar, and the inflation rate has remained high. Essence

Inflation has become the "heart disease" of the German people

Preliminary data released by the German Federal Statistics Bureau recently showed that the inflation rate in Germany in July was 7.5%. Among them, energy prices soared by 35.7%year -on -year, and food prices rose 14.8%, which was significantly higher than the overall inflation rate of the month.

A survey of international consulting companies McKinsey shows that more and more German consumers are worried that prices will continue to rise, and its inflation has become a "heart disease" for the German people.

Studies from the German Institute of Macroeconomic Policy have shown that the soaring costs such as fuel and food have affected German people who have affected the levels of income, especially those with low -income people and vulnerable groups in a more difficult situation.

Eliza, a German elderly in the past seventy -year, told reporters that now she and her husband rely on pension life. Because the price of daily necessities has risen significantly, they must embezzle the savings of pensions to maintain normal expenses. "We look for all kinds of money -saving tricks to save expenses, and I can't imagine what extent will heal heating costs and electricity costs soaring in winter."

For the temporary unemployed young man Oscar, life is more difficult, because he has not found a job, he now relies on free food issued by charity. He said that the expenses of life are rising, and relying on the only savings and relief funds can no longer survive.

Government subsidies do not cure the standard

Since March, the German federal government has launched a series of energy subsidy measures to reduce the heavy burden on the soaring energy prices for enterprises and families. According to data from the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, Germany's inflation rate dropped slightly in June and July, but it is still at a high level.

Georg Tier, director of the German Federal Statistics Bureau, said that the rise in energy products is the main factor that leads to high inflation. Supply bottleneck and new crown epidemic also pushed the level of inflation. inflation rate.

Many experts are worried that these energy reduction measures are mainly based on "one -time subsidy" or short -term subsidies for three months. Such temporary measures cannot have a long -lasting impact on inflation, and they cannot fundamentally solve the problem.

Jorge Crey, chief economist at the German commercial bank, believes that energy subsidy measures only bring temporary looseness. As short -term subsidy measures such as energy reduction taxation taxes and bus monthly tickets have failed, the inflation rate will rise again. He predicts that the inflation rate in Germany will exceed 8%by the end of this year, and the inflation problem will continue to trouble Germany in the next few years.

Whether inflation is difficult to conclude

The Institute of Economic Research, German Economic Research Institutions, predicts that German inflation has been seen and it is expected to decline in the second half of this year. Timo Volmeso, head of the Institute of Economic Research and Forecasting Department of the Institute, said that from the recent survey results of the expected company price expectations, the increase in the price of enterprises on product prices is decreasing, which will be reflected in a few months later Consumer prices.

Alexander Crug, an economist of Hoker-Ovhazawa-Lanper Bank of Germany, believes that Germany is currently facing a serious bottleneck in natural gas supply. The risk of inflation is still very high. At present, no signs of inflation can be seen.

Kremo believes that there is a variable in the top of inflation, and the supply of natural gas in Russia will determine the next inflation trend in Germany. "If Russia stops supplying natural gas for Germany for a long time, Germany's inflation will soar to more than 10%."

The current energy supply problem has not been solved, and the demand for energy in the second half of the year has risen, and the German people may usher in a "expensive winter". Robert Habeck, Vice Prime Minister of Germany and Minister of Economic and Climate Protection, announced recently that natural gas surcharge will be levied from October. It is expected that every German family will spend more than hundreds of euros for this. Market participants believe that natural gas importers will pass the economic losses brought about by supply shortage and import prices to enterprises and consumers.

Several German experts said that in the complicated situation today, whether German inflation is over and when it is full of unknown. But it is certain that the German people have fully felt the "painful pain" brought by high inflation.

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