European Producers Raise Sales Prices Even More

European producers are increasing their sales prices more and more to compensate for the sharply increased costs of energy and raw materials. As a result, producer prices rose by 5 percent in August compared to a month earlier, according to the European statistical office Eurostat.

This increase is mainly attributable to the energy sector, which suffers from very high purchasing costs and passes these on to customers.

In July, producer prices in the euro area rose by 4 percent. On an annual basis, the prices that manufacturers charge to customers rose by no less than 43.3 percent in August, according to Eurostat. As a result, according to Eurostat, the European Union was a plus every month by 4.9 percent and 43 percent compared to a year earlier.

In the eurozone energy sector, selling prices rose by 11.8 percent compared to July. But there were also positives for consumer and capital goods manufacturers, although this was much less strong than for energy suppliers. In addition to higher costs for energy and materials, companies also spend more on labour costs due to the tight labour market. As a result, the higher selling prices are reflected in inflation.

Within the EU, producer prices rose the most in Ireland, Bulgaria and Hungary, while Luxembourg and Portugal fell. For the Netherlands, Eurostat reported an increase of 3.7 percent every month.