According to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in March this year industrial producer prices decreased by 0.2 percent in the euro area and in the European Union (EU-27) month on month. Compared to March last year, prices increased by 0.7 percent in March of the current year in both zones. In February of the current year, industrial producer prices had gained 0.2 percent in the euro area and 0.4 percent in the EU-27 compared to January.
In March this year compared with the previous month, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector remained stable in both zones, while prices in the energy sector fell by 0.6 percent in the euro area and in the EU-27. In March this year, prices of capital goods remained stable in both zones. The prices of intermediate goods decreased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and remained stable in the EU-27, durable consumer goods rose by 0.1 percent in the euro area and decreased by 0.1 percent in the EU-27, while non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.1 percent in both zones, all on month-on-month basis.
Among the member states for which data are available, the highest month-on-month increases were recorded in Estonia (+1.9%), Ireland (+1.3%), and Slovenia and Finland (both +0.3%), while the largest decreases were recorded in Bulgaria and Greece (both -1.1%), Spain (-1.0%) and Lithuania (-0.6%).
In March this year as compared to March 2012, prices in overall industry excluding the energy sector increased by 1.0 percent in the euro area and by 1.1 percent in the EU-27. Prices in the energy sector remained stable in the euro area but fell by 0.5 percent in the EU-27.Non-durable consumer goods rose by 2.1 percent in the euro area and by 2.3 percent in the EU-27, while intermediate goods and durable consumer goods gained 0.4 and 0.6 percent in the respective zones, and capital goods increased by 0.7 in the euro area and 0.8 percent in the EU-27, all year on year.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest year-on-year increases in the overall index were observed in Estonia (+11.3%), Belgium (+3.7%), Ireland (+2.6%) and France (+1.9%),and the largest decreases were recorded in in Sweden (-1.4%), Greece (-1.3%), Austria (-0.8%), Poland (-0.5%) and the Netherlands (-0.4%).
