Industrial prices soar 43.6% in May due to energy

MADRID, 27 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Industrial prices rose 0.9% last May in relation to the previous month and soared 43.6% year-on-year. However, this rate has moderated nine tenths compared to that registered in April, as reported on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

With the year-on-year rise in May, industrial prices chained 17 consecutive months of positive rates. However, for the second consecutive month, the year-on-year rate has moderated compared to the previous month.

Among the sectors that drove the rise in industrial prices in May, energy stands out, with its annual change falling by almost 3.5 points, to 113.6%, due to lower gas and electricity production prices; and intermediate goods, whose annual rate decreased eight tenths, to 25%, fundamentally due to the lower cost of producing precious metals.

On the other hand, durable consumer goods increased their interannual rate by three tenths, to 7.5%, due to the rise in the price of the manufacture of domestic appliances and the manufacture of furniture.

By activities, the largest price increases compared to May 2021 occurred in the supply of electricity and gas (117.7%); coking plants and oil refining (103.8%); metallurgy (43.2%) and the chemical industry (27.9%).

According to the INE, without counting energy, industrial prices showed a year-on-year rise of 15.3% last May, a rate three tenths lower than that of April and more than 28 points higher than the general rate.

MONTHLY INCREASE OF 0.9%

In monthly rate (May over April), industrial prices rose by 0.9%, four tenths below what they increased in April (1.3%). Even so, with the rise in May, 15 months of consecutive monthly rises are chained.

The monthly advance in May is mainly due to the increase in the prices of intermediate goods by 1.5%, the higher cost of energy (0.8%), as well as the rise in the prices of consumer goods non-durable by 0.6%.

PRICES ARE MODERATE IN 14 COMMUNITIES

The annual rate of the industrial price index increased in May in two autonomous communities, remained in Aragon and moderated in 14 regions, according to Statistics.

The only increases with respect to the April rate occurred in Comunidad Valenciana and Castilla-La Mancha, with increases of five and two tenths, respectively.

For its part, the greatest decreases in the interannual rate were registered in Asturias, Murcia and the Balearic Islands, with setbacks of 7.3; 5.2 and 3.4 points, respectively.

At the end of May, all the communities presented positive rates of industrial prices.

The highest annual rates were in Asturias (82.9%), the Balearic Islands (78.9%) and the Canary Islands (76.5%), while the most moderate ones corresponded to La Rioja (22.5%), Navarra ( 26.8%) and Catalonia (28.1%).