According to a statement released on March 2 by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the industrial producer price index in the European Union member states (EU-27) rose by 0.9 percent month on month in January this year. The year-on-year growth in the index was registered at 0.1 percent. In December 2009, prices had slightly increased by 0.1 percent in the region, as compared to the previous month.
In the EU-27 in January 2010, compared with the previous month, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector increased by 0.2 percent, while prices in the energy sector rose by 2.4 percent, prices for intermediate goods gained 0.5 percent, durable consumer goods rose by 0.2 percent and non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.1 percent.
In the month in question, among the member states for which data are available, the highest month-on-month increases in the overall index were recorded in Malta at 17.2 percent, in Denmark at 3.9 percent, in Finland and Sweden, both at 1.9 percent, while the highest decreases were observed in Slovakia at 1.7 percent, in Latvia at 0.5 percent, in the Netherlands at 0.3 percent and in Ireland at 0.2 percent.