Industrial export and import prices have reached record levels since the beginning of 2023.
The General Export Price Index of industrial products registered an increase of 1% in July compared to the same month in 2023, which represents its largest year-on-year increase since March 2023, according to data released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
As for import prices of industrial products, these registered a year-on-year increase of 2.1% in July, exceeding the rate of the previous month by two tenths and reaching their highest level since February 2023.
This increase in July marks the third consecutive month of year-on-year increases in import prices, while export prices have experienced increases for two months in a row.
Export prices
The National Institute of Statistics pointed out that the energy sector was one of the main drivers in the evolution of industrial export prices. In July, the annual rate of the sector increased by 6.5 points, standing at -4.9%, due to the increase in the cost of production, transportation and distribution of electric energy.
Intermediate goods registered an annual rate of -0.1%, five-tenths above that observed in June, driven by the increase in the prices of the manufacture of basic chemical products. On the other hand, capital goods saw an increase of six-tenths in their year-on-year rate, reaching 1.3%, due to the fact that prices in the manufacture of motor vehicles decreased less than in July 2023.
Excluding energy, the annual rate of the general export price index rose five-tenths in July, standing at 1.3%, which is three-tenths higher than the rate of the general index.
In monthly terms (July compared to June), export prices of industrial products increased by 0.4%, driven by a 25.3% rise in prices associated with the production, transportation and distribution of electric energy, and a 2.2% increase in prices of refined petroleum.
Import prices
For their part, import prices of industrial products increased by 2.1% year-on-year in July, which represents an increase of two-tenths compared to the rate of the previous month.
As for sectors, intermediate goods increased their year-on-year rate by nine-tenths, reaching -0.4%, driven by the rise in prices of the chemical industry.
On the other hand, energy reduced its year-on-year rate by 1.1 points, standing at 11.3%, due to the increase in the costs of coke plants, oil refining, and the extraction of crude oil and natural gas.
Excluding energy, the annual rate of import prices of industrial products rose four-tenths, reaching 0.3%, which was 1.8 points below the general rate.
In monthly terms, import prices of industrial products increased by 0.2% in July, driven mainly by the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (+30.1%), as well as by the increase in coking plants and oil refining (+4%).
