Output And Input Prices Up In December

Output prices rose overall by 3.5% in the year to December, compared with a 2.9% rise in the year to November. The index rose 0.5% between November and December mainly due to price rises in food, electrical products, transport equipment and other manufactured products. Input prices for materials and fuels rose 6.9% in the year to December compared with 4% in the year to November and 0.1% between November and December 2009 comapred with a fall of 2.6% between November and December 2008.

Output prices rose across the board the most significant rise being in petroleum products at 16%. Other significant increases over the year were in transport at 4.2% and electrical and optical at 3.8%. In the month to December the changes were included increases in transport at 1.2%, electrical and optical at 1.1% and other products at 1.2%. There was a decrease of 0.2% in tobacco and alcohol.

Details of input price changes over the year to December show a 65.9% increase in crude oil prices, and a decrease of 18.7% in fuel prices. Imported metals went up by 5.8% and other imported materials by 4.3%. Other significant downward price changes were in home food materials by 5.6% and imported food materials by 2%. In the month to December the significant price changes were a downward change of 2.2% in crude oil prices. other changes included a 1.1% increase in the price of fuels, 1.2% increase in imported metals and 1% in the price of imported food materials.