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Germany’s import prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in June, preliminary data from Destatis showed Wednesday.

The import price index climbed 12.9 percent year-on-year following an 11.8 percent increase in May. Economists had forecast a 12.6 percent rise. The latest increase was the highest year-on-year-change since October 1981, when import prices rose 13.6 percent, Destatis said.

Import prices for energy rose 88.5 percent from a year ago, when prices were very low. Excluding crude oil and mineral oil products, import prices increased 9.8 percent in June. Compared to the previous month, import prices rose 1.6 percent in June, which was slightly faster than the 1.5 percent increase economists had predicted. In May, prices rose 1.7 percent.

Export prices rose 5.0 percent annually in June, which was the fastest pace since April 1982, when they climbed 5.6 percent Destatis said. In May, prices increased 4.2 percent. On a month-on-month basis, import prices rose 0.8 percent in June.