Wholesale electricity prices fell by 6.2% in the month to December 2024 but were 53.9% higher than December 2023 and 64.7% lower than the peak that occurred in August 2022.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 1.4% higher in December 2024 when compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods were up by 3.5%. Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 3.3% higher in the year.
Producer prices for food products increased by 4.2% in the 12 months to December 2024, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco Index was up by 3.4%.
Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to December 2024 were: Dairy Products (+9.8%), Meat & Meat Products (+5.0%), Other Food Products (+3.6%), and Grain Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds (-3.9%).
The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year to December 2024 were: Mining & Quarrying (+3.7%), Wearing Apparel (+3.0%) Chemicals & Chemical Products (-13.5%), and Rubber & Plastic Products (-3.3%).
Wholesale prices for construction products grew by 0.1% in the month to December 2024 and rose by 1.0% in the 12 months since December 2023.
Wholesale Price Index- December 2024 | |||
Price index (Year ‘21=100) | % monthly change | % annual change | |
Oct 2024 | 107.7 | 1.6% | -1.7% |
Nov 2024 | 109.7 | 1.9% | 2.1% |
Dec 2024 | 110.4 | 0.6% | 3.3% |
Output Price Index | |
Jan 2022 | 5.3 |
Feb 2022 | 3.5 |
Mar 2022 | 6.4 |
Apr 2022 | 7.9 |
May 2022 | 11.9 |
Jun 2022 | 12 |
Jul 2022 | 12.4 |
Aug 2022 | 10.8 |
Sep 2022 | 12.6 |
Oct 2022 | 13.6 |
Nov 2022 | 7.1 |
Dec 2022 | 4.5 |
Jan 2023 | 4.9 |
Feb 2023 | 5.5 |
Mar 2023 | 3.5 |
Apr 2023 | -0.8 |
May 2023 | -2.5 |
Jun 2023 | -2.4 |
Jul 2023 | -6.9 |
Aug 2023 | -3.9 |
Sep 2023 | -3.5 |
Oct 2023 | -5 |
Nov 2023 | -2.3 |
Dec 2023 | -1.2 |
Jan 2024 | -0.1 |
Feb 2024 | 1.6 |
Mar 2024 | -0.1 |
Apr 2024 | 3.3 |
May 2024 | 0.9 |
Jun 2024 | 1.5 |
Jul 2024 | 2.6 |
Aug 2024 | -0.1 |
Sep 2024 | -2.6 |
Oct 2024 | -1.7 |
Nov 2024 | 2.1 |
Dec 2024 | 3.3 |
Home | Export | |
Jan 2021 | 97.3 | 97.8 |
Feb 2021 | 98.5 | 99.2 |
Mar 2021 | 98.7 | 99.2 |
Apr 2021 | 98.9 | 98.8 |
May 2021 | 99.4 | 98.1 |
Jun 2021 | 99.6 | 98.2 |
Jul 2021 | 100.4 | 100.1 |
Aug 2021 | 100.6 | 100.4 |
Sep 2021 | 100.7 | 100.2 |
Oct 2021 | 101.3 | 101.7 |
Nov 2021 | 101.5 | 102.7 |
Dec 2021 | 102.9 | 103.6 |
Jan 2022 | 103.4 | 103.2 |
Feb 2022 | 104.7 | 102.5 |
Mar 2022 | 106.1 | 105.4 |
Apr 2022 | 108.7 | 106.4 |
May 2022 | 109.5 | 110 |
Jun 2022 | 110.2 | 110.1 |
Jul 2022 | 112.1 | 112.5 |
Aug 2022 | 113 | 111 |
Sep 2022 | 115.1 | 112.6 |
Oct 2022 | 115.4 | 115.4 |
Nov 2022 | 115.1 | 109.4 |
Dec 2022 | 115.1 | 107.5 |
Jan 2023 | 116.3 | 107.5 |
Feb 2023 | 116.4 | 107.5 |
Mar 2023 | 115.7 | 108.5 |
Apr 2023 | 115.6 | 104.8 |
May 2023 | 115.5 | 106.2 |
Jun 2023 | 115.4 | 106.7 |
Jul 2023 | 113.9 | 103.8 |
Aug 2023 | 114.2 | 106.2 |
Sep 2023 | 114.5 | 108.3 |
Oct 2023 | 114.5 | 109.1 |
Nov 2023 | 114.2 | 106.7 |
Dec 2023 | 114.5 | 106.1 |
Jan 2024 | 115.1 | 107.6 |
Feb 2024 | 115.2 | 109.5 |
Mar 2024 | 114.8 | 108.4 |
Apr 2024 | 115.2 | 108.7 |
May 2024 | 115.3 | 107.4 |
Jun 2024 | 115.5 | 108.5 |
Jul 2024 | 115.5 | 106.6 |
Aug 2024 | 115.4 | 105.9 |
Sep 2024 | 115.4 | 105.1 |
Oct 2024 | 115.6 | 106.9 |
Nov 2024 | 115.6 | 109.2 |
Dec 2024 | 116.1 | 109.8 |
Notable annual increases and decreases in construction products as shown in Table 3 include:
The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) remained constant in the month to December 2024 and rose by 2.0% in the 12 months to December 2024. This index combines the All Materials Index with a measure of the change in wages in the Construction sector to provide an overall index for input construction costs (See Table 4).
There was a decrease of 6.2% in the price of wholesale electricity in December 2024. The price of electricity was 53.9% higher than in December 2023 and was 64.7% lower when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.
The price index for all energy fuels rose by 0.6% in December 2024 and fell by -2.1% in the year since December 2023.
The overall Energy Products Index was down by 4.8% since November 2024 but was 36.0% higher when compared with December 2023 (See Figure 3 and Table 5).
Wholesale Price Index - Electricity | |
Jan 2021 | 57.8 |
Feb 2021 | 42.5 |
Mar 2021 | 53.8 |
Apr 2021 | 63.1 |
May 2021 | 71.4 |
Jun 2021 | 70.1 |
Jul 2021 | 105.8 |
Aug 2021 | 97 |
Sep 2021 | 144.3 |
Oct 2021 | 158.4 |
Nov 2021 | 151 |
Dec 2021 | 184.8 |
Jan 2022 | 148.6 |
Feb 2022 | 129.3 |
Mar 2022 | 216.4 |
Apr 2022 | 161.1 |
May 2022 | 105.7 |
Jun 2022 | 134.2 |
Jul 2022 | 197.2 |
Aug 2022 | 286 |
Sep 2022 | 209 |
Oct 2022 | 100.4 |
Nov 2022 | 105.6 |
Dec 2022 | 204.1 |
Jan 2023 | 119.7 |
Feb 2023 | 117.5 |
Mar 2023 | 107.2 |
Apr 2023 | 92.7 |
May 2023 | 77.6 |
Jun 2023 | 86.4 |
Jul 2023 | 71 |
Aug 2023 | 78.6 |
Sep 2023 | 82.4 |
Oct 2023 | 92.6 |
Nov 2023 | 90.7 |
Dec 2023 | 65.7 |
Jan 2024 | 73.7 |
Feb 2024 | 62.4 |
Mar 2024 | 64 |
Apr 2024 | 65.3 |
May 2024 | 79.5 |
Jun 2024 | 79.5 |
Jul 2024 | 81.9 |
Aug 2024 | 74.1 |
Sep 2024 | 83.2 |
Oct 2024 | 91.2 |
Nov 2024 | 107.8 |
Dec 2024 | 101.1 |
The annual average of the overall index for the Food, Beverages & Tobacco sector grew by 0.2% in 2024 in comparison to the annual average of 2023. The annual average index for Food Products rose by 0.3% in 2024 while Beverages were down by 0.2% relative to their corresponding 2023 annual averages.
Within the Food sector, annual average prices grew for Dairy Products (+4.8%), and Bakery & Farinaceous Products (+3.2%) compared with 2023 annual averages. Annual average prices fell for Grain Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds (-4.3%), and Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats (-2.7%) relative to 2023 annual averages (See Table 2).
Prices in some construction materials showed changes during 2024. Some timber prices decreased, with the 2024 average price for Rough Timber (including plain sawn) down 7.1% on the 2023 average. Prices for some Steel Products increased while others decreased. The overall category Structural Steel & Reinforcing Metal annual average was down by 8.0% relative to the annual average of 2023. The annual average of the All Materials Index increased by 0.3% on the 2023 annual average (See Table 3).
For more information on the categories of products in Table 3 see Description of Products for Building and Construction.
There were decreases in wholesale electricity prices during 2024, with annual average prices down 11.0% compared with the 2023 annual average. This comes after a fall of 45.8% during 2023. Some other wholesale energy fuels rose in price, and the annual average index for All Energy Products was down by 8.1% on the 2023 annual average index (See Table 5).
Overall prices received by Irish manufacturers increased by 0.9% in 2024 following on from a decline of 1.4% in 2023. The price index for goods sold on the home market went up by 0.3% in 2024, having increased by 4.0% in 2023. The price index for exported goods rose by 0.9% in 2024 following a fall of 1.9% in the previous year (See Table 6).
Producer prices were affected by a number of factors during 2024 including fluctuations in the Euro exchange rate and market supply and demand. The average exchange rate for the US dollar and Sterling are shown in Table 7 below. Other global factors including the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 also had a major effect on market supply and demand during the year.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 January 2025) published the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for December 2024.
Commenting on the release, Deirdre Toher, Statistician in the Prices Division, said:
“Wholesale price inflation showed an increase in December 2024 with a 0.6% growth in the overall Producer Price Index for manufacturing industries in the month. The price index for export sales was up by 0.5% since November 2024, while the index for home sales was up 0.4% in the month. Producer prices for products sold on the domestic market were 1.4% higher in December 2024 compared with December 2023. In the 12 months to December 2024, export producer prices rose by 3.5% while overall producer prices were up by 3.3%.
Electricity Prices
Wholesale electricity prices fell by 6.2% in December 2024 when compared with November 2024 and were 53.9% higher than December 2023. They have fallen by 64.7% when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022. The annual average price of wholesale electricity in 2024 was 11.0% lower than the annual average price in 2023.
Construction Products
The All Materials Index for construction products increased by 0.1% in December 2024 and rose by 1.0% in the 12 months since December 2023. The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) was unchanged in the month and was 2.0% higher than the same month last year (See Tables 3 and 4)."