Germany's February year-on-year inflation figures remained high at 8.7%, the same figure recorded in January, as consumers struggled with rising energy and food prices.

The Federal Statistical Office said in a Friday press release that February's consumer prices were up 0.8%, compared to January. 

"The inflation rate remains at a high level," said Ruth Brand, president of the Federal Statistical Office. "Households felt the impact of higher food prices also in February, as they increased even more than energy prices.”

What is pushing up prices?

The Russian war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022, compounded pressure on the global economy following two years of living under the pandemic. This led to heightened inflation worldwide, especially as energy and food prices increased.

The war and crisis situation has caused delivery bottlenecks and rising prices at upstream stages in the economic process that impact inflation, the office said.

Excluding energy and food prices, inflation in Germany in February stood at 5.7%, the office said.

What happened to energy, food prices?

Despite relief measures introduced by the German government to ward off an energy crisis, energy product prices increased in February by 19.1% year-on-year. This is slightly lower than January's 23.1% figure.

But energy prices remain high. Household energy prices rose by 32.2% from February 2022 to the same month this year.

Increases in food prices are also significant contributors to inflation figures. They increased 21.8% in February year-on-year. This is even higher than last month when they were at 20.2%.

Compared to February 2022, the increase in food prices was even higher than that in energy prices as a whole, the office said. For example, sugar cost consumers in last month 69.9% more than it cost them in February 2022.

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rmt/sms (dpa, Reuters)