BERLIN Germany's wholesale price index fell slightly in April compared to the same month last year, the first year-on-year drop since December 2020, according to data released on Monday.

Wholesale prices fell by 0.5% on the year and 0.4% on the previous month, compared to March readings of 2.0% and 0.2%, the federal statistics office said.

A 15.7% year-on-year drop in prices in the wholesale of petroleum products had the biggest impact on the April figure, the office said.

Prices were also more favourable for used and residual materials (-31.5%), grain, raw tobacco, seeds and animal feed (-25.2%), ore, metals and semi-finished metal products (-20.5%), and chemical products (-5.4%).

Meanwhile, wholesale prices for fruit, vegetables and potatoes increased 22.0% year-on-year, while prices for building materials and live animals increased by 13.9% and 11.4%, respectively, compared to April 2022.

The office offers more detailed economic data on its website.

(Reporting by Friederike Heine, Editing by Ed Osmond and Bartosz Dabrowski)