According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in May this year industrial producer prices fell 0.4 percent both in the euro area and in the European Union member states (EU-28), month on month. As compared to May last year, in May this year industrial producer prices rose by 3.3 percent in the euro area and by 3.7 percent in the EU-28.
In May this year compared with April, prices in the energy sector decreased by 1.3 percent in the euro area and by 1.8 percent in the EU-28. Prices of intermediate goods fell by 0.1 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, month on month. Prices of non-durable goods rose by 0.2 percent in the euro area and by 0.3 percent in the EU-28 on month-on-month basis. Prices of capital goods rose by 0.1 percent in the euro area and remained stable in the EU-28, while prices of durable goods remained stable in the euro area and rose by 0.1 percent 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 Greece (-1.9%), Lithuania (-1.5%), the Netherlands (-1.0%) and Belgium and the United Kingdom (both -0.8%). The largest increases were observed in Ireland (+1.1%), Cyprus (+0.8%) and Slovenia (+0.4%), on month-on-month basis.
In May this year as compared to May 2016, prices in the energy sector rose by 5.7 percent in the euro area and were up by 6.9 percent in the EU-28. Prices of intermediate goods increased by 3.5 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, and the prices of non-durable goods increased by 2.5 percent in the euro area and by 2.8 percent 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 (+9.0%), the United Kingdom (+6.1%), the Netherlands (+5.5%), Cyprus (+5.4%) and Spain (+5.2%). A year-on-year decrease was observed in Luxembourg (-3.0%).