Food industry prices jump, but electricity costs down – CSO

The price of raw materials for the food industry rose last month, according to the latest Wholesale Price Index from the Central Statistics Office.

However, the wholesale price of electricity fell sharply last month while inflation in construction materials continued to moderate.

Overall, the rate of price increases for manufactured goods for the domestic market was 10.4%, on an annual basis, while goods for export went up by 5.9%.

Today’s CSO figures show that food products are up 8.9% with dairy products up 53.2%, fish products up 21.2% and grain and animal feeds up 14.5%, all on an annual basis. They also increased compared to prices in August.

In the construction industry, the price of building and construction materials fell for the second month in a row by 0.6%.

However, on an annual basis, the price of products like cement is up 23.9%, pre-cast concrete up 25.1% and structural steel up 58.7%.

Overall, on an annual basis, the price of building and construction materials is up 16.6% but compared to August, prices fell by 0.6%.

Electricity prices fell sharply in September by 26.9%, although they are still up 44.9% compared to a year ago. The movement in electricity prices reflects volatility in the price of gas on wholesale markets.

The price of petrol continued to fall and the annual rate of increase has now moderated to 5.9%.

Diesel prices also fell last month. Diesel, on an annual basis, is 20.1% higher than a year ago, the CSO said today.

Article Source: Food industry prices jump, but electricity costs down – CSO – Robert Shortt – RTE

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