Teuerung: „Furcht vor abermals wegbrechenden Einkommen“: I-Index zeigt Inflationsangst der Deutschen

Fear of rising inflation is driving people's financial concerns, much like in other parts of the world, particularly after the United States election and the situation in Sachsen-Anhalt. The "I-Index," a measure of media coverage on inflation in Germany created by the Technical University of Dortmund, showed that 6.1% of newspaper articles in August focused on inflation.

This is a significant decrease from previous peaks, such as during the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the US-Israel conflict with Iran, but the situation remains tense. Henrik Müller, who leads the project in Dortmund, notes that the current data demonstrates people's constant vigilance towards price fluctuations since the 2022 inflation shock.

Despite the reduced concern in Iran, inflation remains high, primarily due to expensive gasoline from rising oil prices. The fear of inflation is fueled by two factors: increasing costs and decreasing incomes. This double threat creates a potential for second-round effects, where higher inflation leads to further price increases.

The I-Index, based on millions of newspaper articles since 2001, shows a clear connection between media coverage on inflation and people's inflation expectations. The European Central Bank (ECB), which recently raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, is paying close attention to these findings as they aim to prevent another inflation narrative from taking hold and driving inflation expectations higher.