Industrial production prices fall 0.1% in December; down 4.2% in 2020

  • Lusa
  • 19 January 2021

The National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Tuesday that Industrial production prices in Portugal last year fell by an average of 4.2%, with both the domestic and foreign market indices falling.

Industrial production prices in Portugal last year fell by an average of 4.2%, having been unchanged in 2019, with both the domestic and foreign market indices falling, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Tuesday.

“For 2020 as a whole, the average change in the index was -4.2%, with the internal and external market indices falling by 3.4% and 5.4% respectively,” the INE said, adding that these indices had been down by 0.3% and up by 0.6% in 2019, respectively.

Excluding energy prices from the total index, the industrial production price index was down by an average 1.1% last year, after a 0.4% rise in 2019.

In December alone, the overall index was down 0.1% on the month and 4.0% from December of 2019, having in November been down 4.7% on a year earlier; excluding energy prices the index in December was down 0.7%, the same as in November.

Taking the fourth quarter of 2020 as a whole, the index was down 4.5% on the same period a year earlier, having in the third quarter been down 5.0% on the year. Excluding energy prices, the index in the fourth quarter was down 0.8% on the year, compared with a drop of 1.4% in the third quarter.

The Industrial Production Prices Index aims to reflect factory-gate prices for both the domestic and foreign markets. Its components are obtained from a survey carried out online of companies based in Portugal that are mainly or secondarily devoted to the extractive, manufacturing, and electricity, gas and water sectors, with around 10,123 prices collated each month.