This measure of German inflation just hit its highest level since 1949

The price of goods leaving German factories has passed an eye-watering milestone.

German annual producer price inflation topped 30% in March, the country's Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday. That's its highest level since the agency began collecting data 73 years ago.

The biggest culprit? Energy prices, which rose nearly 84% from the same month last year.

"Mainly responsible for the high rise of energy prices were the strong price increases of natural gas... which was [up] 144.8% on March 2021," the statistics office said in a statement.

It is one of first signs of the huge impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine is having on the German economy, Europe's biggest. Producer prices rose by nearly 5% between February and March alone.

Consumers should brace themselves. Factory gate inflation feeds into retail prices, and shoppers can expect to spend more on everything from furniture to meat, according to Wednesday's figures.

German consumer price inflation is already at a 41-year high, hitting 7.3% last month. Energy prices were the main contributor, up almost 40% from the previous month.

Global energy prices were rising before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. As economies began to reopen from their pandemic lockdowns, demand for fuel surged and wholesale prices shot up.

But Western sanctions on Russia's coal and oil exports — and efforts by the European Union to slash consumption of its natural gas — have pushed prices up even further.