Manufacturers' prices continue to fall

Dutch manufacturers reduced their prices by 2.0 percent form March to April 2003. The decrease was mainly caused by lower prices for foreign buyers (-3.1 percent). Domestic selling prices hardly changed (-0.1 percent).

Lower prices for petrochemical products were an important contributor to the price decrease. If the petrochemical industry is left out of the calculations, the prices would have fallen by 0.2 percent from March to April.

Producers’ prices compared with previous month

Intermediate consumption also cheaper

Manufacturers paid 3.6 percent less in April for raw materials and semi-manufactured products than in March. Intermediate consumption in the Netherlands cost 0.9 percent less, while imported materials and semi-manufactures were 5.8 percent cheaper than in March. Import prices of gas and electricity in particular had a strong downward effect.

Producers’ prices compared with previous year

Prices of intermediate consumption about the same as last year

As a consequence of the prices decreases in March and April, the price of intermediate consumption is at about the same level as in April 2002 (+0.2 percent). Selling prices rose by 1.7 percent in the same period.

Corien Ooms