The industrial producer price index¹ fell by 0.5% in the Eurozone² (EA15) in August and by 0.7% in the EU27². In July³, prices rose by 1.3% and 1.2% respectively.

In the year to August 2008, industrial producer prices increased by 8.5% in the Eurozone and by 10.4% in the EU27.

These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union.

Monthly changes

In August 2008, compared with the previous month, prices in total industry excluding the energy sector rose by 0.2% in both the Eurozone and the EU27. Prices in the energy sector fell by 2.5% and 2.8% respectively. Intermediate goods gained 0.3% in the Eurozone and 0.2% in the EU27. Non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.2% in both zones. Capital goods increased by 0.1% in the Eurozone and by 0.2% in the EU27. Durable consumer goods remained stable in the Eurozone and gained 0.1% in the EU27.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increases were registered in Lithuania (+1.9%), Luxembourg (+1.8%) and Romania (+1.4%). The largest falls were observed in Denmark and the United Kingdom (both -1.8%), and Greece and the Netherlands (both -1.1%).

Annual changes

In August 2008, compared with August 2007, prices in total industry excluding the energy sector increased by 4.3% in the Eurozone and by 4.9% in the EU27. Prices in the energy sector rose by 22.5% and 27.1% respectively. Intermediate goods gained 6.0% in the Eurozone and 6.8% in the EU27. Non-durable consumer goods increased by 4.1% and 4.9% respectively. Durable consumer goods rose by 2.4% in the Eurozone and 2.5% in the EU27. Capital goods gained 2.2% and 2.6% respectively.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increases were observed in Luxembourg (+27.0%), Denmark (+20.5%) and Lithuania (+20.4%), and the lowest in the Czech Republic (+5.7%), Ireland (+6.2%) and Slovakia (+6.7%).

1. The index of producer prices shows (in the national currency of the country concerned) changes in the ex-works sale prices of all products sold on the domestic markets of the various countries, excluding imports. Eurozone and EU indices refer to overall weighted price changes. The figures are not adjusted. Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the Eurozone and the EU.
2. The Eurozone (EA15) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

3. Data of previous months have been revised . The monthly growth rates for July 2008 for total industry excluding construction previously published were +1.1% for the Eurozone and +0.9% for the EU27. The annual growth rates were +9.0% for the Eurozone and +11.0% for the EU27.

4. Data are supplied by Estonia, Latvia and Malta, but their series are not long enough to be integrated in the calculation.