Euro area industrial producer prices down 1.4 percent in August

According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in August this year industrial producer prices declined by 0.1 percent both in the euro area and in the European Union member states (EU-28) month on month. In August of the current year as compared to August 2013, industrial producer prices fell by 1.4 percent in the euro area and by 1.5 percent in the EU-28.
 
In August this year compared with July, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector remained stable in both the euro area and the EU-28. In both zones, the prices of durable consumer goods and non-durable goods decreased by 0.1 percent and the prices of energy decreased by 0.4 percent, all month on month. The prices of intermediate goods decreased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and remained stable in the EU-28, both on month-on-month basis. Meanwhile, the prices of the capital goods increased by 0.1 percent in both zones month on month.
 
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 Sweden (+0.3%) and Hungary (+0.2%), while the largest decreases were registered in Denmark (-0.7%), Croatia (-0.6%), Estonia (-0.5%) and Slovakia (-0.4%).
 
In August of the current year as compared to August 2013, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector decreased by 0.2 percent in the euro area, while decreasing by 0.1 percent in the EU-28. Prices in the energy sector fell by 4.4 percent in the euro area and by 5.4 percent in the EU-28. Prices of intermediate goods decreased by 0.6 percent in the euro area and by 0.5 percent in the EU-28, year on year. Prices of capital goods rose by 0.4 percent  in the euro area and by 0.5 percent in the EU-28, while the prices of non-durable goods decreased by 0.2 percent in both areas, all year on year. Meanwhile, the prices of durable consumer goods rose by one percent in the euro area and increased by 0.8 percent in the EU-28 year on year.
 
Among member states for which data are available, the only year-on-year increases in the overall index were observed in Romania (+0.8%), and Latvia and Sweden (both +0.3%), while the largest decreases were seen in Lithuania (-5.1%), Belgium (-4.7%) and Slovakia (-3.8%).