The Construction Costs Index for the A.C. of the Basque Country registered a 0.1% rise in December 2003 in relation to the previous month, bringing the inter-annual rate for the month to 2.4%, according to EUSTAT data. The overall rate for 2003, therefore, shows a 2.4% rise in relation to December 2002.

In the inter-annual period (December 2003 compared to December 2002) labour costs increased by 5.8%, while the costs of raw materials registered a 0.1% rise.

The sub-sectors of Building and Civil Works registered a similar evolution, with 0.2% growth in Building compared to the previous month, while the cost of raw materials for Civil Works remained unchanged from the previous month. Inter-annual evolution of these sub-sectors shows two quite different trends: Building costs decreased by 0.1%, while in the case of Civil Works they accrued an increase of 0.6%.

Among prices of raw materials used by the sector, the highest inflation rates for 2003 in relation to the previous December were the following: Lime, gypsum and plaster (7.1%), Cleaning and hygiene materials (6.0%), Iron and Steel (5.0%), Machine accessories used (4.4%) and Artificial Cement (4.1%). On the other hand, there were reductions in annual prices (December 2003 compared to December 2002) in the following raw materials: Ceramic products (-17.9%), Asphalt products (-6.6%), Oil by-products (-4.8%), Electric energy (-3.9%) and Explosives and gases (-3.6%).