Manufacturing prices up 2.2% in year to December

Prices for goods leaving Irish-based factory gates increased 2.2 per cent over the year to December, although they declined sharply last month.

The wholesale price index, which measures the selling price of domestically manufactured goods, decreased by 2.4 per cent in December the sharpest monthly fall in at least four years, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

As a result the index had a reading of 89.6 in December. The index took prices in 2000 as a benchmark when it set the baseline at 100.

The most significant changes in the month was a 2.7 per cent decline in prices for exports and a 1.3 per cent fall in products sold domestically.

Last month prices for pharmaceutical and other chemical products fell 3.7 per cent while computers and office machinery prices were 2.8 per cent lower last month.

Over the year the price of food products including bread and confectionary were up 10.8 per cent compared with December 2007 while pharmaceutical products were 7.5 per cent up. Prices for diary products were 13.2 per cent lower.

The sharp fall in oil prices since July was reflected in a 3.5 per cent decrease in energy products last month, with petroleum fuel prices dropping 14 per cent.

A rise in raw material prices over the last year is reflected in the 16.4 per cent rise in structural steel prices with reinforced metals prices showing a 13.3 per cent rise over December 2007.

However, the impact of the property slowdown in the second half of 2008 can be seen from the easing of building and construction materials prices.

Over the year to December prices for these products have risen 2.3 per cent, but were down -0.7 per cent on the month.