Irish manufacturing producer prices fall further in March? CSO

Wholesale electricity prices remained sharply elevated in March despite a monthly decline, while overall producer prices in manufacturing fell at a faster pace, data from Ireland‘s Central Statistics Office showed on Thursday.

The CSO said producer prices in manufacturing fell 2.4% in March from February, deepening the annual decline to 1.9%. This followed a smaller year-on-year drop of 0.5% in February.

Export producer prices were down 2.2% annually in March, while prices for goods sold on the domestic market rose 1.3%.

Wholesale electricity prices dropped 6.4% in March from February but were still 52% higher than in March 2024. Compared with the August 2022 peak, prices were down 66%.

‘Wholesale price inflation showed a decrease in March, with a 2.4% fall in the overall producer price index for manufacturing industries,’ said Deirdre Toher, statistician at the CSO.

The food sector saw significant price growth over the year, with dairy products up 22%, meat and meat products rising 5.7%, and other food products climbing 5.9%. However, prices for vegetable oils and animal fats fell 16% on the year.

Among other industrial goods, chemicals dropped 14% and rubber and plastic products declined 2.7%, while fabricated metal products and furniture recorded annual increases of 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively.

In construction, the all materials index rose 1.0% annually and 0.2% on the month. Price rises were strongest for concrete blocks and bricks, up 7.7%, and cement, up 5.7%. Reinforcing metal prices fell 8.1% in the 12 months to March.

The CSO said energy prices broadly fell in the month, with the overall energy products index down 6.6% from February but still 33% higher than a year earlier.

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