MADRID, 25 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Industrial prices decreased by 8.4% in July in relation to the same month of 2022, a rate four tenths lower than that registered in June, due to cheaper electricity and the lower rise in gas production prices compared to the one registered a year earlier, as reported this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
With the year-on-year decline in July, inflation in the industrial sector chains five months of negative rates after ending a period of 26 consecutive months of increases in March, in which it recorded positive double-digit rates for more than 20 months.
The drop in industrial prices registered in July is due to the drop experienced by energy, which cut its rate by four tenths, to -26.2%, due to the lower rise in gas production prices and the drop in cost of production, transportation and distribution of electrical energy. In contrast, refined oil prices increased in July of this year compared to the setback they experienced in the same month of 2022.
The drop in industrial inflation in July was also influenced by intermediate goods, which cut their interannual rate by almost half a point, to -5.7%, due to the lower cost of manufacturing chemical products, as well as capital goods, whose annual rate fell four tenths, to 2.6%, due to lower prices in the manufacture of motor vehicles.
According to the INE, without counting energy, industrial prices showed an interannual increase of 1.9% last July, a figure two tenths lower than that of June and almost 10.5 points higher than the general rate.
By activity, the largest price declines compared to July 2022 occurred in coke ovens and petroleum refining (-33%); the supply of electricity and gas (-24%) and in the chemical industry (-15.8%).
Conversely, the greatest year-on-year rises were recorded in the manufacture of beverages (11.1%); the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (9.5%), and the food industry (9.3%), which, with a recovery of less than 10%, put an end to 18 consecutive months of increases of two digits.
INDUSTRIAL PRICES RISE 0.1% DURING THE MONTH
In the monthly rate (July over June), industrial prices rose 0.1%, eight tenths less than they did the previous month, when they rebounded 0.9%.
Energy was the driving sector behind this monthly rise in industrial prices, registering an increase of 0.9% due to the higher cost of oil refining and gas production.
At the same time, non-durable consumer goods raised their prices by 0.7% in July compared to the previous month due to higher prices in the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats.
In contrast, intermediate goods cut their prices by 1.1% in the seventh month of the year due to lower prices in the manufacture of basic iron and chemical products.
The activities where prices increased the most in a monthly rate and which had the greatest impact were the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (6.3%); petroleum refining (4.1%); gas production (0.9%), and the manufacture of other food products (0.6%).
On the other hand, the most pronounced monthly decreases in prices and with the greatest impact on the index were recorded by the production of electricity (-0.6%); the manufacture of chemical products (-2%); the manufacture of basic iron products (-3.1%) and the manufacture of products for animal feed (-2.2%).
NEGATIVE RATES IN 16 COMMUNITIES
The annual rate of the industrial price index decreased in July in twelve autonomous communities, increased in four and remained unchanged in Cantabria, according to Statistics.
The greatest decreases with respect to the June rate occurred in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, whose interannual rates fell 3.7 and 3.1 points, respectively.
At the other extreme, the regions where the annual rate of industrial prices increased the most were Andalusia and the Basque Country, with increases of 2.3 and 1.2 points, respectively.
At the end of July, all the communities presented negative industrial price rates except La Rioja, which did not experience any variation. The most pronounced negative rates were those of Asturias (-19.5%), the Balearic Islands (-18.9%) and the Canary Islands (-16.5%).
