Factory gate prices slightly up

Selling prices of the Dutch manufacturing industry were 1.5 percent higher in April 2007 than in the same month last year. Price increases over the last eight months range between 1 and 2 percent. In the two years preceding this period, factory gate prices increased by an average of just over 6 percent.

The price increases were curbed by price developments in the petroleum processing industry. If these developments are left out of account, the price increase in April comes to 3.7 percent.

Although higher oil prices have pushed up prices in the petroleum processing industry in recent months, the price of petroleum and the factory gate prices in the petroleum processing industry were below the level of April 2006.

Prices of wood products were just over 10 percent higher than in the same month last year. And with an increase of about 6 percent, selling prices of food and metal products were also considerably higher than in April 2006.

Prices were an average 1.6 percent higher than in March 2007. This is the largest increase since May 2006. Prices of products sold on the domestic market rose by 1.4 percent; prices of exported products increased by 1.8 percent

Factory gate prices