Press Release 22/03/2018

INDUSTRIAL PRICE INDEX. FEBRUARY 2018

Industrial prices of the Basque Country rose by 0.2 % in February 2018 on the previous month

They were 1.5% up on the previous year (February 2018 on February 2017)

Industrial prices of the Basque Country rose by 0.2% in February 2018 on the previous month, according to data prepared by EUSTAT. With these data, the year-on-year rate for February which indicates the fluctuation in industrial prices over the last twelve months, registered an increase of 1.5%.

A more detailed sector-level analysis reveals that in February 2018, the most inflationary branches on the previous month were: Electricity, Gas & Steam, which rose by 1.5%; Metallurgy & Metal Products, with an increase of 0.7%; and Furniture & Other Manufacturing Industries, which was up 0.6%. On the other hand, the sectors which posted the greatest decreases in prices were: Coke Plants & Oil Refining, which experienced a 2.9% drop in prices; Chemical Industry, whose prices fell by 1.0%; and Electronic and Computer Products, down by 0.8%.

Following the classification of Goods by economic destination, with regards to the previous month, Energy posted a 0.8% decrease in prices, Intermediate Goods rose 0.6% and Capital Goods were up 0.1%. Consumer Goods as a whole were up 0.2%, as a result of the rise in the prices of Consumer Non-durables (0.2%), while Consumer Durables remained stable (0.0%).

In the year-on-year period from February 2017 to February 2018, the greatest increases in prices occurred within the branches of: Metallurgy & Metal Products, which rose by 5.2%; Chemical Industry, up by 2.9%; and Timber, paper and graphic arts, with an increase of 1.8%. By contrast, the largest decreases in prices were seen in the sectors of: Coke Plants & Oil Refining, with a drop of 2.3%; Electronic and Computer Products, whose prices fell by 0.5%; and Extraction industries, down by 0.4%.

There were different price variations between these large goods groups in the year-on-year period. Energy decreased by 1.4%, but Intermediate Goods increased by 3.5% and prices corresponding to Capital Goods were up by 1.6%. Consumer Goods as a whole grew by 0.6%. Among the latter, the prices of Consumer Non-durables increased by 0.8%, while the prices of Consumer Durables fell by 0.1%.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62