The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures price developments in manufacturing, extraction of oil and gas, electricity supply and mining, both in terms of sales to the Norwegian market, and abroad. In this article, we mainly focus on the manufacturing industries. Key Norwegian manufacturing industries include the food industry, chemical production, petroleum and coal processing and the manufacture of basic metals.
The producer price index (PPI) measures the price development that important parts of the Norwegian industry receive for their goods. Compared with the more well-known consumer price index (CPI), PPI measures price developments at an earlier point in the value chain. The CPI measures the price development that households pay for different goods, while the PPI measures prices "at the factory gate". Thus, PPI is an important indicator of the condition in the Norwegian industry. The index is used to analyse the Norwegian economy and can also be an indication of the development in the CPI. The PPI measures the price development in extraction of oil and natural gas, manufacturing, water- and electricity supply and for certain services, including services related to oil and gas extraction. Prices are measured on goods sold in the first stage of sales from the producer to the Norwegian market (domestic market), in addition to the foreign market (export market).
Stronger price growth abroad than domestically
The prices Norwegian manufacturing industry receives for exported goods have risen steadily since July last year. From April to May export prices rose by 2.2 percent, compared to a sharp increase of 7.2 percent the previous month. As for domestic market prices, they were unchanged from April to May, compared to an increase of 3.0 percent in April.
Export prices increased at the end of 2024 and the first months of 2025, largely due to higher prices for seafood, metals and refined petroleum products. Then, prices for all these goods fell, especially sharply for petroleum products. From the summer of last year, prices for exported metals and seafood have risen somewhat again. Prices on petroleum products, on the other hand, continued to fall through 2025 and into 2026, but rebounded sharply in April and May. In April, prices for refined petroleum products rose by 47.3 percent. The increase continued in May, when prices went up 5.5 percent.
There was also a sharp price increase in the chemical industry in May of 13.2 percent, while prices in the basic metal industry had a weaker price increase in May than in the previous month, up 1.6 percent in May.
The overall price growth for exported industrial goods was 12.9 percent from May last year to May this year. Prices on exported food products fell for the second month in a row, but were still around 12 percent higher compared to the same month last year. The twelve-month growth in the basic metal industry ended at 16.8 percent in May.
More stable price growth over time for domestic goods than for export goods
In the domestic market, manufacturing prices have shown more stable growth in the recent two years compared to the export market. Although domestic prices have also fluctuated at times, the twelve-month growth rate for goods sold domestically has generally remained between two and three percent since last summer. However, growth has accelerated in recent months, and in April and May prices were 6–7 percent higher compared to the same months the previous year.
Greater price fluctuations in several manufacturing industries in the export market are partly due to the different product compositions in the two markets. Many important export goods, such as petroleum products, basic metals and chemical products, are strongly affected by developments in global commodity markets. Recent events, including tensions in the Middle East, have contributed to pushing export prices up.
In addition, export prices are influenced by movements in the exchange rate to the Norwegian krone. Higher export prices over the past months occurred despite an appreciation of the Norwegian krone against other currencies, which all else being equal, gives exporters lower prices measured in Norwegian kroner.
Other important twelve-month changes
- The price index for extraction of crude oil and natural gas went down 4.9 percent in May compared to April this year. Compared to May last year, prices were 35.1 percent higher. Last month’s price drop led to a 1.8 percent price drop in the total PPI in May.
- Prices in the power supply sector, which include electricity and its distribution rose by 6.0 percent in May. Compared with May last year prices were 58.5 percent higher.
