According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in May this year industrial producer prices decreased by 0.1 percent both in the euro area and in the European Union member states (EU-28) month on month. In May of the current year as compared to May 2013, industrial producer prices fell by one percent in the euro area and by 0.9 percent in the EU.
In May this year compared with April, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector remained stable both in the euro area and in the EU-28. The prices of capital goods remained stable in both zones, while prices of durable consumer goods increased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and remained stable in the EU-28, while the prices of intermediate goods remained stable in the euro area and increased by 0.1 percent both in the EU-28, all month on month. Meanwhile, the prices of non-durable goods decreased by 0.1 percent in both zones, while the prices of energy fell by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.4 percent in the EU-28, both on month-on-month basis.
In the given month, among the member states for which data are available, the largest month-on-month increases in industrial producer prices were recorded in Estonia (+1.67%), Denmark (+1.0%) and Spain (+0.9%), while the largest decreases were registered in Lithuania (-1.5%), Latvia (-1.0%) and Hungary (-0.8%).
In May of the current year as compared to May 2013, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector decreased by 0.2 percent in the euro area and by 0.1 percent in the EU-28, while prices in the energy sector fell by 2.8 percent in both areas. Prices of intermediate goods decreased by 1.2 percent in the euro area and by 1.0 percent in the EU-28, year on year. Prices of capital goods rose by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.4 percent in the EU-28, prices of durable consumer goods rose by 0.8 percent in the euro area and by 0.7 percent in the EU-28, while prices of non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.5 percent in both areas, all year on year.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest year-on-year increases in the overall index were observed in Greece (+1.1%), Romania (+0.8%), Sweden (+0.7%) and Estonia and Ireland (both +0.5%), while the largest decreases were seen in Belgium and Lithuania (both -4.8%), Cyprus (-4.3%), and Slovakia (-3.7%).