Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), reported that producer prices fell by 0.2% in May after declining by 1.0% in April. Economists had expected a decrease of 0.1%. In annual terms, producer prices fell by 4.2%, slowing compared to April (-5.7%). Consensus estimates suggested a 4.1% drop. Meanwhile, among the EU countries, producer prices decreased by 0.3% compared to April and by 4.0% per annum.
The data showed that on a monthly basis, producer prices in the eurozone increased for intermediate goods (+0.1%), capital goods (+0.1%) and non-durable consumer goods (+0.1%). Energy prices fell by 1.1%, and the cost of durable consumer goods decreased by 0.1% Meanwhile, excluding energy, producer prices rose by 0.1%.
Among the EU countries, producer prices rose for intermediate goods (+0.1%), capital goods (+0.1%) and non-durable consumer goods (+0.2%). Energy prices fell by 1.3%, and the cost of durable consumer goods decreased by 0.2%. Producer prices excluding energy increased by 0.2%.
Eurostat said that the largest monthly decreases in industrial producer prices were recorded in Croatia (-4.1%), Greece (-2.9%) and Sweden (-1.8%). The highest increases were observed in Ireland (+7.7%), Bulgaria (+4.5%) and Estonia (+2.1%).