BERLIN, (Reuters) – German wholesale prices increased 16.6% over the previous year, the official data revealed on Monday. The increase was their largest since the 1962 data collection.

As wholesale trade is the link between end-customers and manufacturers, it is commonly believed that the price measurement is an indicator of inflationary tendencies in future.

Federal Statistics Office released a statement saying that “the high rates of change in wholesale prices in an annual comparison result from higher prices for raw material and intermediate products.”

Increased prices of mineral oil products had the largest effect on the annual measurement, rising 62.4% in the past year.

They have increased the pressure on intermediate product prices due to bottlenecks in supply chains.

According to a recent survey, more than half of German firms doing business abroad have severe logistical problems. They are forced to find alternative supply sources, cut down on delivery times and relocate production.

The German Consumer Prices, which are harmonised so that they can be compared with other inflation data from the European Union, increased 6.0% in November. This puts increasing pressure on European Central Bank to act.

Olaf Scholz was Germany’s chancellor last month, just before he took office. He said that extremely high inflation rates should be monitored closely.

Wholesale prices increased 1.3% in November, a month-on-month increase.