EU-27 industrial producer prices increase slightly in May

Industrial producer prices in the European Union member states (EU-27) rose by 0.2 percent month on month in May, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In April, the revised month-on-month increase was 0.8 percent in the region.
 
As compared with May 2009, industrial producer prices in May this year in the EU-27 increased by 3.7 percent.
 
In May, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector improved by 0.5 percent month on month and were up 1.8 percent year on year, while prices in the energy sector decreased by 0.3 percent month on month and were up 8.6 percent year on year. Prices for durable consumer goods increased by 0.3 percent over April this year and were up by one percent compared to May 2009.
 
On month-on-month basis, the highest increases in the overall index were recorded in Hungary at 3.4 percent, in Cyprus at two percent, in Lithuania at 1.3 percent and in Slovenia at 1.2 percent. The only decreases were observed in Greece with 0.6 percent, and in Sweden and the UK both with 0.5 percent.