Producer price index, January 2005

Prices within oil and gas extraction increased by 9.5 per cent from December to January. Figures from the London Spot Market (LSM) show an 11.9 per cent increase in prices of Brent Blend in January. The rise in oil prices, which is mainly attributed to strong demand from China and the USA, was the main reason for the 4.4 per cent increase in the total index.

The main reason for the increase in manufacturing prices was the rise in prices of refined petroleum products and basic metals of 5.7 and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

According to the Nordpool spot market electricity prices fell by 11.3 per cent from December to January, resulting in the lowest price recorded since February 2002.

Among the main industrial groupings, prices of energy goods increased by 7.8 per cent, while intermediate goods decreased by 0.5 per cent.

12-month rate: January 2004 to January 2005

The manufacturing prices increased by 4.7 per cent compared with January 2004. This is the lowest 12- month rate since March 2004 and is related to lower prices of oil and metals.

The total index was 23.8 per cent higher in January this year compared with last year. The price of Brent Blend increased by 44.0 per cent during the period, while the price of electricity decreased by 24.1 per cent. Among the main industrial groupings, prices of energy goods increased by 19.3 per cent, while prices of consumer goods increased by 1.6 per cent over the last year.

Commodity price index for industrial sectors

As announced previously the article for the Producer Price Index and the article for the Commodity Price Index for the industrial sectors have become one article. The web pages for both surveys will remain the same for the time being - www.ssb.no/ppi_en and www.ssb.no/vppi_en.

The monthly changes of the Producer Price Index and the commodity price index may show minor deviations due to different index levels and rounding. No extra information is added to the commodity price index.

Updated weights for 2005

The weights used in the Index have been revised with new figures from the national accounts.

Figures for 2005 show a change in weighting from manufacturing and electricity to oil and gas extraction. The importance of metal prices increases within manufacturing, while electrical and optical equipment become less significant. The same development occurs on the domestic market, where refined petroleum prices become less significant.