2020.08.0409:21:00UTC+00Eurozone Producer Prices Rise For First Time In 5 Months

Euro area industrial producer prices increased for the first time in five months in June and at a faster than expected pace, even though economic activity remained damped by the Covid-19 containment measures in most of the countries in the EU, preliminary data from Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

The producer price index for Eurozone rose 0.7 percent from May, when it fell 0.6 percent. Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent increase.

This was the first increase in producer prices since January.

On a year-on-year basis, producer prices fell 3.7 percent after a 5 percent drop in May. Economists had expected a 3.9 percent decline.

June was the fourth month of coronavirus containment measures in most of the European Union member states.

Compared to the previous month, industrial producer prices grew 3.1 percent in the energy sector, 0.2 percent in the intermediate goods industry and edged up 0.1 percent for capital goods production.

Producer prices for durable consumer goods were stable and those for non-durable consumer goods decreased 0.1 percent.

Excluding energy, producer prices for total industry were unchanged.

In the EU, producer prices grew 0.7 percent month-on-month in June after a 0.5 percent fall in May. On a year-on-year basis, producer prices decreased 3.4 percent following a 4.6 percent drop in the previous month.

The biggest monthly increases in industrial producer prices were recorded in Estonia, Denmark and Finland, while the only decreases was observed in the Czech Republic.