According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in March this year industrial producer prices fell by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the European Union member states (EU-28), month on month. As compared to March last year, in March this year industrial producer prices rose by 3.9 percent in the euro area and by 4.6 percent in the EU-28.
In March this year compared with February, prices in the energy sector decreased by 1.7 percent in the euro area and by 1.6 percent in the EU-28. Prices of intermediate goods grew by 0.5 percent in the euro area and by 0.4 percent in the EU-28, month on month. Prices of non-durable goods rose by 0.1 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the EU-28 on month-on-month basis. Prices of capital goods rose by 0.1 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, while prices of durable goods grew by 0.2 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, all on month-on-month basis.
In the given month, among the member states for which data are available, the largest month-on-month decreases in industrial producer prices were recorded in Denmark (-1.3%), Estonia (-1.1%), Greece (-0.9%) and Spain and the Netherlands (both -0.8%). The largest increases were observed in Cyprus (+1.3%), Lithuania (+1.1%) and Ireland (+0.9%), on month-on-month basis.
In March this year as compared to March 2016, prices in the energy sector rose by 8.2 percent in the euro area and were up by 11.9 percent in the EU-28. Prices of intermediate goods increased by 3.9 percent in the euro area and by 3.8 percent in the EU-28, and the prices of non-durable goods increased by 2.2 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, all year on year. Prices of capital goods moved up by 0.9 percent in the euro area and by 1.2 percent in the EU-28, while the prices of durable goods increased by 0.7 percent in the euro area and by 0.9 percent in the EU-28, all on year-on-year basis.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest year-on-year increases were recorded in Belgium (+12.4%), the Netherlands (+9.2%) and the United Kingdom (+8.8%). A year-on-year decrease were observed in Luxembourg (-3.2%).