Germany’s high inflation rate fell somewhat in August according to the latest data, continuing the recent trend.

Consumer prices were 6.1% above the level of the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office calculated, based on provisional data.

After rising to 6.4% in June, the annual inflation rate fell to 6.2% in July.

From July to August of the current year, consumer prices are expected to have increased by 0.3%, the Wiesbaden-based statisticians said on Wednesday.

The high inflation rate is slowing down private consumption because  people can afford less for their euros. Energy and food in particular have become much more expensive in recent months as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In August, food and energy were also significantly more expensive in Germany than a year earlier. Food prices rose by 9% within a year, according to the preliminary calculations of the statisticians. In July, food prices in Germany were 11% higher than in the same month of the previous year, and in June they were 13.7% higher.

The upward trend in energy prices has picked up once again. Energy prices were 8.3% higher in August 2023 compared to the same month last year. In July, the rate was 5.7%.

The government is trying to ease the situation with price brakes, which are intended to make natural gas, electricity and district heating more affordable, and are retroactive to January 1.

Inflation in Europe’s largest economy is now well away from its highest level since German reunification, in the autumn of 2022, when it stood at at 8.8%. However, economists do not expect the inflation rate to fall back to around the 2% mark on average until next year.

With a medium-term inflation rate of 2% in the euro area, the European Central Bank’s monetary watchdogs see their goal of stable prices achieved.