Consumer prices in Germany will see a 7-8% increase in 2022, Karl von Rohr, the vice president of Deutsche Bank, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. However, if the government restricts Russian energy imports, prices could spike 10% or more in the coming months.
“If energy imports are more limited, we may even see 10% or more. We must brace ourselves for inflation rates not seen since the 1970s,” von Rohr stated.
Last month, the annual inflation rate in Germany reached a record high of 7.3%. Prices have been soaring after the EU and a number of other countries placed economic sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Sanctions jeopardized the prospect of uninterrupted energy flows from Russia to the EU, even though Russian energy carriers have so far been largely untouched by restrictions.