Euro area industrial producer prices down 1.7 percent in Feb

According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in February this year industrial producer prices decreased by 0.2 percent in both the euro area and in the European Union member states (EU-28), both month on month. In February of the current year as compared to February 2013, industrial producer prices fell by 1.7 percent in the euro area and by 1.6 percent in the EU-28.
 
In February this year compared with January, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector remained stable in both the euro area and the EU-28. The prices of capital goods and non-durable consumer goods remained stable in both zones, while prices of durable consumer goods increased by 0.1 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-28, all month on month.
 
In the given month, among the member states for which data are available, the largest month-on-month increases were recorded in Denmark (+0.4%), Hungary (+0.3%), Croatia (+0.2%) and Cyprus and Finland (both +0.1%), while the largest decreases were registered in Estonia (-1.9%), Slovakia (-1.6%), Greece (-1.5%), Lithuania (-0.9%) and Slovenia (-0.8%).
 
In February of the current year as compared to February 2013, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector decreased by 0.5 percent in the euro area and by 0.3 percent in the EU-28, while prices in the energy sector fell by 4.4 percent and by 4.9 percent respectively. Prices of intermediate goods decreased by 1.8 percent in the euro area and by 1.6 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, prices of durable consumer goods rose by 0.9 percent in the euro area and by 0.8 percent in the EU-28, while prices of non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.6 percent in the euro area and by 0.8 percent in the EU-28, 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 Ireland (+1.1%), Latvia (+0.5%) and Malta (+0.3%), while the largest decreases were seen in Cyprus (-5.4%), Lithuania (-4.6%), Belgium (-4.2%), Slovakia (-3.8%) and Greece (-3.5%).