EU-27 industrial producer prices increase in April

Industrial producer prices in the European Union member states (EU-27) rose by one percent month on month in April, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In March, the revised month-on-month increase was 0.8 percent in the region.
 
As compared with April 2009, industrial producer prices in April this year in the EU-27 increased by 3.7 percent.
 
In April, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector improved by 0.6 percent month on month and were up 1.1 percent year on year, while prices in the energy sector increased by 1.7 percent month on month and were up 10.2 percent year on year. Prices for durable consumer goods increased by 0.3 percent over March this year and were up by 0.7 percent compared to April 2009.
 
On month-on-month basis, the highest increases in the overall index were recorded in Hungary at three percent, in Latvia at 2.8 percent, in Bulgaria at 1.9 percent and in Greece at 1.4 percent. The only decrease was observed in Sweden with 0.4 percent, while the index remained stable in Malta.