Wholesale electricity prices rose by 17.1% in the month to January 2026 but were 24.2% lower than January 2025.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 0.6% higher in January 2026 compared with January 2025, while producer prices for exported goods were down by 5.9%. Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 5.2% lower in the year.
Producer prices for food products decreased by 2.3% in the 12 months to January 2026, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco Index was down by 2.4%.
Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to January 2026 were: Fish & Fish Products (+5.4%), Vegetables & Animal Oils & Fats (-16.2%), and Other Food Products (-6.0%).
The most noteworthy changes in other producer prices in the year to January 2026 were: Chemicals & Chemical Products (+21.0%), Pulp, Paper & Paper Products (+4.0%), Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery & Equipment (+3.1%), Beverages (-3.3%), and Mining & Quarrying (-3.1%).
Wholesale prices for Construction Products increased by 0.7% in the month to January 2026 and rose by 1.5% in the 12 months since January 2025.
| Wholesale Price Index- January 2026 | |||
| Price index Base Year 2021=100 | % monthly change | % annual change | |
| Nov 2025 | 103.9 | 0.0% | -5.3% |
| Dec 2025 | 103.3 | -0.6% | -6.4% |
| Jan 2026 | 104.7 | 1.4% | -5.2% |
Notable annual increases and decreases in Construction Products as shown in Table 3 include:
The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) rose by 0.4% in the month to January 2026 and was up by 2.3% in the 12 months to January 2026. This index combines the All Materials Index with a measure of the change of wages in the Construction sector to provide an overall index for input construction costs (See Table 4).
There was a rise of 17.1% in the price of wholesale electricity in January 2026 compared with December 2025. The price of electricity was 24.2% lower than in January 2025 and was 67.2% lower when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.
The price index for all energy fuels rose by 0.7% in January 2026 but was down by 8.2% in the year since January 2025.
The overall Energy Products Index rose by 12.7% since December 2025 but was 20.9% lower when compared with January 2025 (See Figure 3 and Table 5).
For more information on the categories of products in Table 3 see Description of Products for Building and Construction.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (23 February 2026) published the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for January 2026.
Commenting on the release, Deirdre Toher, Statistician in the Prices Division, said:
“Wholesale price inflation showed an increase in January 2026 with a 1.4% growth in the overall Producer Price Index for manufacturing industries in the month.
The price index for export sales was up by 1.5% since December 2025, while the index for home sales was up by 0.3% in the month.
Producer prices for products sold on the domestic market were 0.6% higher in January 2026 compared with January 2025. In the 12 months to January 2026, export producer prices fell by 5.9%, while overall producer prices were down by 5.2%.
Electricity and Food Prices
Wholesale electricity prices rose by 17.1% in January 2026 when compared with December 2025 but were 24.2% lower than January 2025. They have fallen by 67.2% when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.
Producer prices for food products declined by 0.2% since December 2025 and fell by 2.3% in the year since January 2025. Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to January 2026 were for Fish & Fish Products (+5.4%), Vegetables & Animal Oils & Fats (-16.2%), and Other Food Products (-6.0%) (See Table 2).
Construction Products
The All Materials Index for Construction Products increased by 0.7% in January 2026 and rose by 1.5% in the 12 months since January 2025. The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) was up by 0.4% in January 2026 and was 2.3% higher than January 2025 (See Tables 3 and 4).”