Crude oil down, basic metals up

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The Producer Price Index (PPI) fell by 2.6 per cent from January to February, the first month of decline since July 2017.

Lower prices within the group extraction of crude oil and natural gas was the main reason behind the decline in the PPI total. Both prices of crude oil and natural gas fell in February. Crude prices fell for the first time since July 2017 and ended at around 65 US dollars per barrel. By comparison, the crude oil price was just under 70 dollars in January. This was, among other things, caused by positive figures from the US on oil production and inventories. Due to the lower oil price, prices of refined petroleum products decreased as well in the same period. Despite a sharp fall in prices of natural gas in February, the index of natural gas remained at a comparatively high level.

The electricity index, on the other hand, increased by 12 per cent in February. Higher demand due to cold weather in Northern Europe could explain the price increase.

Figure 1. Price indices. 2014=100

Crude oil Natural gas
Jan. 2014 107.9 118.7
Feb. 2014 108 115.3
Mar. 2014 103.8 105.6
Apr. 2014 103.8 103.4
May 2014 105.3 95.8
Jun. 2014 109 92.5
Jul. 2014 106.8 86
Aug. 2014 102.1 85.6
Sept. 2014 100.3 89
Oct. 2014 93.2 100.4
Nov.2014 87 92.4
Dec. 2014 72.8 115.2
Jan. 2015 60.6 117.1
Feb. 2015 72.2 101.9
Mar. 2015 73 108.6
Apr. 2015 76.9 98.4
May 2015 79.9 93.2
Jun. 2015 81.5 95.2
Jul. 2015 75.7 94.9
Aug. 2015 63.4 96
Sept. 2015 65.2 91.8
Oct. 2015 66 88.6
Nov.2015 64.8 89.6
Dec. 2015 54.8 89.4
Jan. 2016 45 78.4
Feb. 2016 47.2 69.8
Mars.2016 54.6 61.5
Apr. 2016 57.4 58.4
May 2016 63.4 57.8
Jun. 2016 67.6 60.8
Jul. 2016 63.8 67.9
Aug. 2016 62.5 64.5
Sept. 2016 63.5 57
Oct. 2016 67.8 56.6
Nov.2016 63.7 70.7
Dec. 2016 75.4 82
Jan. 2017 75.7 78.2
Feb. 2017 74.8 89.1
Mar. 2017 72.8 89.8
Apr. 2017 74.5 72.4
May 2017 70.9 73.2
Jun. 2017 64.2 73.7
Jul. 2017 64.8 66.7
Aug. 2017 66 66.2
Sept. 2017 70.6 70.7
Oct. 2017 74 82
Nov.2017 82.4 82.3
Dec. 2017 85.4 92.7
Jan. 2018 88.4 102.4
Jan. 2018 82.1 89.8

Continued price growth on basic metals

The development in basic metal prices has been characterized by an upward trend since the summer of 2016. From January to February, prices rose by a further 3.1 per cent. Increasing prices on iron and steel as well as several non-ferrous metals were important contributors. However, the price of aluminium, Norway’s most important export metal, fell from January to February.

 

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