Industrial prices fell another 7.8% in October due to the fall in energy costs

Industrial prices fell again in the month of October, according to data published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), although the decrease has been smaller than that recorded the previous month. Prices fell 7.8% year-on-year in the tenth month of the year, compared to the seven tenths greater drop experienced in September.

The October figure marks the eighth consecutive month in which the index that studies inflation in the industrial sector registers negative rates. Before this time of price declines, there had been 26 consecutive months of increases that ended in March of this year, in which price increases reached double-digit positive rates for more than 20 months.

The evolution of energy prices, according to Europa Press, has been one of the main factors that have affected the results of industrial prices. The energy inflation rate rose by more than 1.5 points, to a negative figure of 23.7%, thanks to a smaller decrease in the costs of production, transportation and distribution of electrical energy than in October 2022.

Biggest month-on-month drop since May

The moderation of the industrial inflation rate in October was also influenced by intermediate goods, which cut their interannual rate by one tenth, to -5.4%, due to the lower prices in the manufacture of basic iron products, as well as industrial goods. non-durable consumption, whose rate decreased almost 1.5 points, to 8.3%, due to the evolution of the prices of vegetable and animal oils and fats.

In monthly rate (October over September), industrial prices fell by 1.5%, in contrast to the increase of the same amount experienced the previous month. October has been the largest monthly decrease in industrial prices since last May, when they also decreased by 1.5%. Energy was the sector driving this monthly decline in industrial prices, registering a decrease of 4.8% due to the lower cost of oil refining and the production of gas and electrical energy.