Factory gate prices up again

Factory gate prices in the Dutch manufacturing industry were 2.3 percent higher in December than twelve months previously. December was the second month in a row with a larger year-on-year price increase than in the preceding month. In the period June to September, year-on-year price rises were consistently smaller than in the preceding month.

Selling prices are usually greatly influenced by the development of oil prices. In the petroleum industry factory gate prices were 4.3 percent lower than in December 2005. The drop is accounted for by the development of crude oil prices. If the petroleum industry is left out of consideration, factory gate prices were 3.3 percent up on December 2005. This percentage almost equals the growth rate in October and November last year.

Unlike oil prices, metal prices on the global market have risen strongly. This is one of the reasons why prices in the basic metal industry were 16.1 percent higher than in December 2005. However, the increase was marginally smaller than in November, when prices were 17.6 percent higher than twelve months previously. In addition, factory gate prices in both the metal products industry and the wood processing industry rose by above average rates as well in December.

Factory gate prices