The producer price index rose by 7.5 per cent from June to July. There were large price increases for both energy goods and certain manufacturing sectors.
In two years, since July 2020, the PPI has risen by 148.9 per cent. This can largely be attributed to increased prices for energy goods. In comparison, the producer price index excluding energy goods has increased by 26.6 per cent since July 2020.
– A change in the growth rate occurred a couple of years ago for the price of crude oil, natural gas and metals. For several other manufacturing sectors, prices have increased relatively much since 2021, and at the end of last year, prices in the food industry also began to increase, says head of division Espen Kristiansen.
The price index for manufacturing continues to increase gradually and rose by 1.4 per cent in July. This is nevertheless the smallest increase from one month to the next since December 2021. It should be noted, however, that prices in manufacturing have had a high growth rate the past twelve months.
Increased prices for food products
Food products increased by 4.6 per cent from June to July.
Producer prices for meat and meat products increased by 2.7 per cent, while fish, crustaceans and molluscs rose by 2.4 per cent. Strong demand for different types of fish resulted in large export volumes and increased prices in July (seafood.no). Producer prices for fruit and vegetables rose by 5.7 per cent in July. Part of the reason for the price increase for food products is increasing expenses for the producer, including persistently high electricity prices. This is also reflected in the agricultural settlement, where several agricultural products received increased target prices from July onwards.
Price surge for natural gas
In July, the price of crude oil and natural gas went in opposite directions: the price of crude oil decreased, while the price of natural gas increased. For the extraction of oil and natural gas overall, prices rose by 16.3 per cent. This increase was largely driven by a high price increase of natural gas in July. This is, among other factors, due to reduced deliveries from Nord Stream 1 (ft.com) to Europe, which already has challenges with limited access to gas. The price of crude oil decreased in July after several months of growth.
At the same time, the prices of refined petroleum products increased by 5.5 per cent in July, influenced by the rise in oil prices in June.
The prices of electricity, gas and steam decreased by 5 per cent in July and helped to dampen the PPI overall. The price index for electricity, gas and steam was nevertheless 69.4 per cent higher than in July 2021.
Continued price decline for basic metals
Prices for basic metals continued to fall in July, with a decrease of 4.6 per cent. Reduced prices for non-ferrous metals were an important driver and decreased accordingly by 4.6 per cent. The price decline of basic metals in July was large, and the index fell to its lowest level since February 2022. Decreasing prices for aluminium, copper and nickel pulled the index down. Despite this, the price index for basic metals is still 45.2 per cent above July 2021.
