The Construction Costs Index registered a 0.5% increase in the A.C. of the Basque Country in September 2004 with regard to the previous month, according to EUSTAT data. The inter-annual rate for September came to 7.0%; 3.8% for labour costs and 8.6% for raw material costs.

Raw material costs rose by 0.7% in relation to the previous month, with a difference in the variation for Building (0.7%) and Civil Works (0.5%). We can see in the inter-annual evolution of these two subsectors, in relation to raw materials consumed, that both follow quite similar trends: raw material costs for Building and Civil Works grew by 8.7% and 8.3%, respectively.

In September the highest growth in prices came about in raw materials consumed by Worked Stone (5.3%), Iron and steel (4.3%), Asphalt products (2.6%) and Oil by-products (2.4%). On the other hand, there was a reduction in the price of raw materials for Oil and grease (-3.4%), Glass (-2.9%), Electric energy (-1.0%), Mining arids (-0.7%) and Lime, gypsum and plaster (-0.4%), among others.

Among the prices of raw materials consumed by the sector that registered higher inflation rates over the whole of the last twelve months are: Metal piping (39.3%), Iron and steel (36.3%), Asphalt products (24.8%), Oil by-products (21.2%) and Articles derived from cement (9.8%), mainly. On the other hand, there were reductions in inter-annual prices (September 2004 in relation to September 2003) for the raw materials used in Glass (-4.5%), Explosives and gases (-2.4%), Office material (-1.8%), Electric energy (-0.4%) and Oil and grease (-0.1%).