Brussels, 03/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - The euro-zone industrial producer price index increased by 0.2% in January 2004 compared with the previous month, according to figures released by Eurostat, on Wednesday. In January 2004, and among the Member States for which data are available, only Germany (-0.2%) reported a decrease while Finland remained unchanged. The highest increases were registered in Portugal (1.2%), Belgium and Sweden (both +0.9%) and Spain (+0.7%).
In January 2004 compared to January 2003, industrial producer prices rose by 0.3% in the euro-zone and 0.4% in the EU15. Over the same period, and excluding the energy sector, industrial prices increased by 0.6% in the euro-zone and by 0.7% in the EU15. Prices in the energy sector fell by 1.3% in the euro-zone and 0.9% in the EU15. Both intermediate goods and non-durable consumer goods gained 0.5% in the euro-zone and 0.7% in the EU15. Capital goods gained 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. Durable consumer goods increased by 0.1% in the euro-zone and by 0.4% in the EU15.