Press Release 30/03/2020

FOREIGN TRADE UNIT VALUE INDICES - IVU. IV/2019

Export prices increased by 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the previous quarter

In the case of imports, prices rose by 2.4%

Export prices increased by 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. For imports this positive variation was 2.4%.

If we compare Energy products and Non-energy products, Energy export prices fell by 1.6% compared to the third quarter of 2019, whilst Non-energy export prices were up 1.3%.

In the case of imports, Energy products grew by 4.8% in quarter-on-quarter terms, and Non-energy products increased by 1.8%.

According to the classification by economic destinations of goods, the prices of Capital Goods were down 2.1%, prices of Intermediate Goods rose by 0.7% and prices of Consumer Goods increased by 4.2%, all compared with the previous quarter. As for imports, prices of Capital Goods rose by 2.8%, those of Intermediate Goods were up 2.4%, and prices of Consumer Goods increased by 2.0%.

If the geographic areas to which exports are sent are taken into account, it can be seen that prices in relation to the third quarter of 2019 rose in almost all areas, in both the Euro Zone (2.1%) and the EU28 (1.9%), as well as in the OECD (1.5%); the exception being the Rest of the World, where prices fell by 2.2%. Equally, in the case of imports, there were quarter-on-quarter increases in prices for all geographical areas, above all the Euro Zone (3.4%).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, export prices rose by 0.7% and prices of imports increased by 2.8%.

Energy exports posted a fall of 1.2% and Non-energy exports were up 0.9%, compared with the fourth quarter of 2018. In the case of imports, there was an increase of 4.3% in prices of Energy products and prices of Non-energy products were up 2.7%.

By economic destination and for exports, Consumer Goods posted an increase in prices of 6.1% year-on-year, whilst the prices of Capital Goods and Intermediate Goods fell by 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively. As for imports, prices of Consumer Goods grew by 0.8% year-on-year, those of Intermediate Goods increased by 2.8%, and prices of Capital Goods were up 4.2%.

Prices of exports have registered an increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year in the OECD (0.8%) and in the Rest of the World (0.4%), and this increase has extended, in the case of imports, to all geographical areas, with the Euro Zone, up 3.8%, standing out slightly.

ANNUAL BALANCE:

In 2019, export prices were up 1.9% compared to the previous year. In the case of imports, the increase stood at 2.3%.

Energy products registered the greatest increases in their prices, both in terms of exports (3.6%) and imports (4.6%), but far removed from those registered in 2018 when, in both cases, they rose by over 20%. Non-energy products also posted an increase, but more moderate, standing at 1.7% for both flows - exports and imports.

If we take into account the classification of goods by economic destination, we can see that for exports there were price increases in the three types of goods, in particular those of Consumer Goods, with 3.0%. Among imports, there was an increase in Intermediate Goods (2.4%) and, above all, in Capital Goods (4.7%), while prices of Consumer Goods decreased (-1.1%).

For exports, the geographical area that experienced the greatest increase in prices in 2019 was the Rest of the World (5.2%), while in the Euro Zone and the EU-28 the change was minimal (0.1%). In terms of imports, all the geographical areas considered also registered an upturn in prices, with the Rest of the World (2.6%) standing out once again, followed by the OECD (2.2%).

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62