Brussels, 07/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - figures released by Eurostat on Thursday estimate that the industrial producer price index in the Eurozone fell by 0.4% in July 2001, compared to figures in June, with production falling by 0.3% through the European Union as a whole. The industrial producer price index fell in all Member States with the exception of Ireland (+0.1%) and in Sweden where it remained unchanged. The following countries experienced strongest falls: the Netherlands -1.5%, Portugal -1.4%, Germany -0.5% and Italy -0.4%. Prices in the energy sector fell by 1.4% in the Eurozone and by 1.3% throughout the European Union. Intermediate goods fell by 0.2% in the Eurozone and in Member States as a whole. The only area experiencing a rise were capital goods, consumer durable goods and non-durable consumer goods (0.1%). In June the industrial production price index remained stable.
Compared to prices in July 2000, industrial production increased by 2.3% in the Eurozone and by 2.1% in the rest of the European Union. Eurostat's figures confirm, "the slowdown of the global index" witnessed since October 2000. The Eurostat press release demonstrates that the annual rate of growth slowed down throughout the European Union. Annual growth rates in Germany (3.1%), Ireland (2.8%), the Netherlands (2.6%) and Sweden (2.2%) were above the European Union Average. Rises that matched the European Union average or were lower, were experienced in Luxembourg (2.1%), Spain (2.0%), Finland 1.8%, Italy (1.4%) and the United Kingdom (0.4%).