German chemicals aiming to raise prices sharply lower in November – Ifo

MADRID (ICIS)–The number of chemicals companies in Germany expecting their selling prices to increase in coming months fell sharply during November, the research institute Ifo said on Tuesday.

Overall, price expectations in all manufacturing and service sectors fell during November, giving hope the country’s high inflation rate may have peaked.

For chemicals, the Price Expectations index fell to 23.4 points in November, down sharply from 33.1% in October (see bottom graph).

The Price Expectations index in wider manufacturing also fell, from 56.9 points in October to 53.7 points in November.

In the petrochemicals-intensive construction industry, the index also fell from 43.1 in October to 39.0 points in November.

Overall, Ifo’s Price Expectations index for German companies also eased – 46.7 points in November, compared with October’s 51.3 points.

According to Ifo’s methodology, the points indicate the percentage of companies that intend to increase prices on balance. The balance is obtained by subtracting the percentage of companies that want to lower their prices from the percentage of those that want to raise their prices.

Germany’s October inflation stood at 11.6%, well above the average for the 19-country currency union the eurozone at 10.6%.

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