Construction index costs in the A.C. of the Basque Country registered a 0.3% increase in June 2006 with regard to the previous month, by which the inter-annual rate for the month came to 4.4%, according to EUSTAT data. The increase in relation to the previous December was 4.5%.

Inter-annual variation rates, 1997-2006

(*)The increase shown is the inter-annual one for January

Source: EUSTAT

In June 2006 labour costs did not vary at all (0.0%), while raw material costs increased by 0.5%.

The subsectors Building and Civil Works registered a similar evolution, with 0.5% growth in relation to the previous month for Building and 0.4% in raw material costs for Civil Works. The inter-annual evolution of these two subsectors shows that both followed similar trends: raw material costs for Building grew by 4.0%, while raw materials for Civil Works increased by 3.8%.

In June the highest growth in prices corresponded to raw materials consumed by Asphalt products (4.4%), Iron and steel (1.9%), Metal piping (1.3%) and Electric energy (1.0%), among others. On the other hand, prices of raw materials fell for Oils and grease (-1.0%), Glass (-0.7%), Artificial cement (-0.2%) and Mining arids (-0.1%), among others.

Among the prices of raw materials consumed by the sector that have risen most in price over the whole of the last twelve months are Asphalt products (19.4%), Electric energy (18.3%), Oil by products (13.4%), Iron and steel (9.6%) and Explosives and gases (7.2%). By contrast, inter-annual prices of (June 2006 on June 2005) fell for the raw materials Lime, gypsum and plaster (-0.5%) and Ceramic products (-0.1%).

CONSTRUCTION COSTS INDEX A.C. OF EUSKADI / DATA SUMMARY. JUNE 2006

Source: EUSTAT