4 OCTOBER 2011

PRODUCER PRICES stayed unchanged in August month-on-month according to national statistics Insee, as three major groups, extractive industries and waste, manufactured products and food benefited from commodity prices declines while energy products -5.8% price cut to Euros 76.8 leveled off potential price spikes. Coke and refinery products producer prices entered a similar downward trend and fell -2.2% due to higher refinery costs locally (-3.8% on external markets).  Electronic equipment IT and machinery producer prices stayed on the increase and climbed +0.6%, transport equipment +0.3% and other industrial products equally while inversely, external markets price tags remained unchanged.

In one year , domestic producer prices rose +6.3% and on external markets by half. Domestic energy producer prices jumped +27%  compared with +22.8% on external markets, and on the same period, Brent crude oil prices, expressed in dollar terms, soared +47.3%. Food producer prices recorded +7.6% price increase on external markets compared domestic prices +6.8% rise. Manufactured products by contrast were up +6.7% in August compared with +3.4% on external markets. IT electric equipment and machinery producer prices stabilized and aligned with external markets so as to sustain competition but still remained nearly over half a percentage point above, a +1.4% increase compared with +1%

Transport equipment, a major import product, recorded the biggest price increase spread, +2.2% domestically compared with +0.1% on external market. Other industrial products price increases on external markets stayed below domestic price tags increases +3.3% compared with +4%.