Irish wholesale inflation accelerates in May as energy prices surge

Irish wholesale prices rose in May as higher electricity and energy costs continued to feed through the economy, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Monday.

The wholesale price index rose 0.9% in May from April, accelerating from a 0.2% monthly increase in April. On an annual basis, wholesale prices increased 1.6%, after rising 1.4% in April.

The CSO said wholesale price inflation was driven by higher manufacturing output prices, electricity costs and construction materials.

Producer prices for goods sold on the domestic market rose 3.7% in the year to May, while export producer prices increased 1.2%. Overall manufacturing producer prices were up 1.6%.

Energy costs remained a key source of inflationary pressure.

Wholesale electricity prices rose 10% in May from April and were 33% higher than a year earlier, although they remained 63% below the peak reached in August 2022.

The all energy fuels index fell 7.8% on the month but was 37% higher than in May 2025, driven by annual increases of 47% in fuel oil prices and 36% in gas oil prices.

The broader energy products index rose 4.8% on the month and was up 34% from a year earlier.

Food price pressures were more modest.

Producer prices for food products rose 0.7% in May from April and increased 1.3% year-on-year. The Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco Index rose 1.0% annually.

Construction costs also continued to rise.

The all materials index for construction products increased 1.2% in May and was 3.1% higher than a year earlier.

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