Lower prices manufacturing industry
Lower crude oil and output prices
Year-on-year oil prices have fallen almost continuously since 2013. In August, the price of a barrel of North Sea Brent oil was 42 euros, i.e. nearly 3 percent below the price level recorded in August 2015. In July, the barrel price was also 42 euros, nearly 19 percent down from one year previously.
Year-on-year prices of petroleum derivatives slumped by 13.1 percent in August 2016 and by nearly 23 percent in July 2016. Evidently, prices of petroleum derivatives are directly affected by crude oil price developments.
Prices of chemical products also decreased more than average (11 percent). Basic metal, rubber and plastic products and machinery were also cheaper than twelve months previously, whereas prices of food products, metal products and the automotive industry were higher than one year ago.
| % change | |
|---|---|
| Food products | 2.6 |
| Metal products | 1.1 |
| Cars | 0.8 |
| Basic metal products | -0.2 |
| Machine | -0.5 |
| Rubber and plastic | -1.4 |
| Chemical products | -11 |
| Petroleum products | -13.1 |
Altogether, the eight industries referred to in the above text and the corresponding graph account for 80 percent of total Dutch manufacturing industry.
Manufactured products cheaper in August than in July
Prices of manufactured products fell marginally on a month-to-month basis. In August 2016, prices of manufactured products fell 0.1 percent on average relative to July, but on the foreign market they rose 0.2 percent. On the domestic market prices declined by 0.4 percent. The crude oil price rose slightly in August compared to July.
Sources
- StatLine - Producer Prices Index; output prices by economic activity
- StatLine - Producer Prices Index (PPI); output and import prices by product