According to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in December 2011 in the European Union member states (EU-27) industrial producer prices decreased 0.2 percent as compared to November levels, while they rose by 4.9 percent as compared with December 2010.
In December 2011 compared with the previous month, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector remained almost stable with a decrease of 0.1 percent in the EU-27, while prices in the energy sector fell by 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, in December 2011 in the EU-27, prices of intermediate goods fell by 0.2 percent, while prices of durable consumer goods and prices of capital goods remained unchanged, all compared to the previous month.
Among the member states for which data are available, the highest month-on-month decreases in the overall index were recorded in Denmark (-1.2 percent) and in Sweden (-0.8 percent). The largest increases were recorded in Romania (+0.5 percent) and in Ireland (+0.3 percent).
In December 2011 as compared to December 2010, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector increased by 2.9 percent year on year in the EU-27, while prices in the energy sector gained 9.6 percent, intermediate goods rose by 3.1 percent, durable consumer goods rose by 2.3 percent and capital goods gained 1.6 percent.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest year-on-year increases in the overall index were observed in Lithuania (+9.5 percent), in Latvia (+8.9 percent) and in the United Kingdom (+8.2 percent), and the smallest in Malta (+0.7 percent), in Denmark (+2.3 percent) and in Slovakia (+2.5 percent), with a decrease recorded in Sweden (-3.1 percent).