The Construction Costs Index in the A.C. of the Basque Country registered a rise of 0.5% in May 2004 in relation to the previous month, making the inter-annual rate 5.3%, according to EUSTAT data.

In May 2004, labour costs remained unchanged (0.0%), while raw material costs registered a 0.7% increase.

The sub-sectors of Building and Civil Works showed a very similar evolution, with growth of 0.7% in raw material costs, in relation to the previous month in Building and a rise of 0.8% in Civil Works, which is to say point one per cent more. Inter-annual evolution of the two sub-sectors followed an even more homogenous pattern: raw material costs for both Building and Civil Works grew by 6.0%.

The greatest price rises in May were for the raw materials consumed by Oil by-products (6.0%), Metal piping (4.2%), Cleaning and hygiene material (4.1%), Explosives and gases (3.9%), Iron and steel (3.5%) and Structures and boilermaking (1.8%). On the other hand, there were reductions in raw material prices for Electric energy (-1.6%), Artificial cement (-1.5%), Paints and varnishes (-1.2%) and Plastic piping (-0.6%), among others.

Among prices of raw materials consumed by the sector to undergo the highest inflation rates over the whole twelve-month period were, especially: Metal piping (28.2%), Oil by-products (21.6%), Iron and steel (20.9%), Asphalt products (15.5%) and Cement products (7.8%). Conversely, inter-annual prices (May 2004 over May 2003) of raw materials showed reductions for Worked stone (-5.0%), Glass (-4.3%), Electric energy (-3.7%), Office material (-3.5%) and Plastic piping (-1.3%).