In Germany there is still no end in sight to the price increases. Instead, consumers must continue to expect products to become more expensive, as shown by the monthly company survey by the Munich Ifo Institute published on Friday. The so-called price expectations for the economy as a whole fell only slightly in October to 51.5 points, after 53.8 points in the previous month. The number indicates what percentage of companies want to increase prices on balance.

Food retailers in particular are still planning "strong price increases," the institute said. Their price expectations were 96.7 points. A majority of hardware stores (85.6 percent) and sellers of consumer electronics (85.4 percent) also wanted to raise their prices. "The wave of inflation hasn't broken yet," said Ifo economic chief Timo Wollmershäuser. Above all, high energy costs have not yet been passed on to consumers completely.

According to the Ifo survey, companies in the manufacturing sector and service providers also want to continue to increase their prices, even if the proportion has fallen compared to the previous month. According to the institute, the price expectations in the catering trade are currently "very high" at 80.9 points. Accordingly, they are also pronounced among clothing manufacturers (83.5 points) and manufacturers of food and animal feed (70.6 percent).