According to the report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in May this year industrial producer prices remained stable in the euro area and rose by 0.1 percent in the European Union member states (EU-28), month on month. As compared to May 2014, industrial producer prices fell by two percent in the euro area and declined by 2.6 percent in the EU-28.
In May this year, prices in the energy sector decreased by 0.3 percent in the euro area and increased by 0.2 percent in the EU-28, month on month. Prices of intermediate goods increased by 0.3 percent in both the euro area and in the EU-28, month on month. Prices of capital goods remained stable in both the euro area and in the EU-28, while the prices of durable and non-durable goods remained stable in the euro area and decreased by 0.1 percent in EU-28, all month on month.
In the given month, among the member states for which data are available, the largest month-on-month decreases in industrial producer prices were recorded in Estonia (-0.9%), the Netherlands (-0.8 percent) and France (-0.6%), while the largest increases in prices were observed in the Hungary (+1.6%), Belgium (+0.9%), and in Greece, Portugal and the UK (all +0.7%).
In May this year as compared to May 2014, prices in the energy sector fell by 6.4 percent in the euro area and by 9.2 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 0.7 percent in the euro area and by 0.8 percent in the EU-28, while the prices of non-durable goods decreased by 1.1 percent in both the euro area and in the EU-28, all year on year. Meanwhile, the prices of durable consumer goods rose by 0.9 percent in both zones, year on year.
Among member states for which data are available, the prices fell on year-on-year basis in nearly all member states except Luxembourg (+0.6%) and Slovenia (+0.1%), while the largest year-on-year decreases were seen in Lithuania (-7.9%), Denmark (-6.9%), the UK (-6.6%), Cyprus (-6.4%) and the Netherlands (-6.1%)