Eurozone producer prices fall more than expected

(Sharecast News) - Factory gate prices across the eurozone fell more than expected in August, according to figures out on Friday from Eurostat, with the annual rate of growth showing deflation for the first time this year. The producer price index decreased by 0.3% during the month, following a 0.3% increase in July.

This was under the -0.1% change expected by economists, as prices for energy fell 1.3% month-on-month and slipped 0.1% for intermediate goods and durable consumer goods. That was only partially offset by a 0.1% increase in the prices of capital goods and non-durable consumer goods.

Compared with August 2024, the PPI was 0.6% lower, marking the first year-on-year decline since November 2024 and under the consensus forecast of -0.4% following a 0.2% gain the previous month.

Energy prices again were weighing on the overall index, compared with last year, falling 4.1% after a 1.0% year-on-year decline in July. Excluding energy, the annual change in the core PPI was steady at 1.0%.