Press Release 25/04/2019

CONSTRUCTION COSTS INDEX. MARCH 2019

Construction costs in the Basque Country rose by 0.2% in March 2019 on the previous month

Compared to the previous year, March 2019 on March 2018, costs increased by 2.5%

There was a 0.2% rise in Construction Costs in the Basque Country in March 2019 with regards to the previous month, whilst the year-on-year rate for the same month was up 2.5%, according to EUSTAT data.

With regards to the previous month, there was no variation in labour costs (0.0%) and the cost of raw materials rose by 0.2%.

This March, the Building sub-sector posted a rise of 0.2% in raw materials and the Civil Works sub-sector increased by 0.5%. The year-on-year trends in these two sub-sectors were also similar: costs of raw materials in Building were up 2.3%, whilst costs in Civil Works posted a 3.9% rise.

The prices of raw materials consumed by the sector that recorded the biggest increases in March 2019 on March 2018, included those in the following sectors: Oil Refining, with an increase of 12.8%, Electricity & Gas, up 5.3%; and Non-Metallic Minerals with a rise of 4.1%. On the other hand, the sectors that saw the biggest price reductions or the smallest increases in prices of raw materials over the last twelve months were Metallurgy which was down 3.7%, Rubber and Plastics with an increase of 0.2% and Electronic Material, with a rise of 0.4%.

Methodological note: in March 2019, the base year used as a reference for the Industrial Price Index (IPRI) was changed, which is the basis for the Construction Costs Index (ICCE). The new base year of reference for both the IPRI and the ICCE is 2015. This base change has signified the updating of the representative panel of participant companies as well as the weighting structure for the various levels of disaggregation.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62