Wholesale prices developed mainly in one direction this year – upwards. Almost all wholesale segments are affected, in particular other wholesale (+24.7% year-on-year January–November 2020), which includes "Wholesale of waste and scrap" (+75%), "Wholesale of metals and metal ores" (+43%) and "Wholesale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products" (+29.8%).

The booming construction industry and the high demand for vaccines also caused prices to rise in the two segments " Wholesale of wood, construction materials and sanitary equipment" (+9.7%) and "Wholesale of chemical products" (+13.9%).

Apart from the base effect due to low wholesale prices in the corona pandemic year 2020, supply bottlenecks due to disrupted supply chains and the recovering global economy are contributing to this development.

Price drivers in the " Wholesale of grain and animal feeds" segment (+21%) are crop failures in e. g. Brazil due to a persistent drought coupled with high global demand. This development also gives rise to expectations of price increases for consumers, who already felt the price-driving effects of the introduction of the CO₂ price and the withdrawal of the sales tax cut at the beginning of this year.

Since January 1, 2021, fossil fuels in the heat and transport sectors such as diesel, gasoline and natural gas have been priced at 25 euros per ton of CO₂. Previously, operators of larger energy plants and energy-intensive industrial plants, among others, participated in European emissions trading scheme. Prices for emission allowances rose sharply this year as well.

The interplay of demand and supply in the respective segments of the wholesale market is changing wholesale selling prices: Compared with the same period last year (Jan.-Nov. 2020), these are on an upward trend in wholesale overall at +9.3%.

Other figures can be found here.