Wholesale electricity prices rose by 2.4% in the month to March 2024 but were 40.3% lower than March 2023 and 70.4% lower than March 2022.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 2.3% lower in March 2024 when compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods was up by 2.3%. Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 2.0% higher in the year.
Producer prices for food products dropped by 9.1% in the 12 months to March 2024, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco Index was down by 8.1%.
Some of the most notable changes in other producer prices for food products over the 12 months to March 2024 were: Fish & Fish Products (+7.1%), Dairy Products (-23.7%), Other Food Products (-11.5%), and Grain Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds (-6.8%).
The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year to March 2024 were: Chemicals & Chemical Products (+22.3%), Beverages (+8.9%), Other Transport Equipment (+5.1%), Wood & Wood Products (-10.5%), and Basic Metals (-5.1%).
Wholesale prices for construction products were up by 0.2% in the month to March 2024 but were down by 0.3% in the 12 months since March 2023.
Wholesale Price Index- March 2024 | |||
Price index (Year ‘15=100) | % monthly change | % annual change | |
Jan 2024 | 88.6 | 1.4% | 2.2% |
Feb 2024 | 89.6 | 1.1% | 3.3% |
Mar 2024 | 88.8 | -0.9% | 2.0% |
Output Price Index | |
Jan 2016 | 3.3 |
Feb 2016 | 1 |
Mar 2016 | -2.2 |
Apr 2016 | -4.1 |
May 2016 | -1.2 |
Jun 2016 | -1.9 |
Jul 2016 | -1.6 |
Aug 2016 | -1.5 |
Sep 2016 | -2.4 |
Oct 2016 | 0.9 |
Nov 2016 | -1.3 |
Dec 2016 | -0.1 |
Jan 2017 | 0.6 |
Feb 2017 | 0.3 |
Mar 2017 | 3.5 |
Apr 2017 | 5.4 |
May 2017 | 4.5 |
Jun 2017 | 2.5 |
Jul 2017 | 1 |
Aug 2017 | -0.7 |
Sep 2017 | 0.8 |
Oct 2017 | -7.3 |
Nov 2017 | -9.1 |
Dec 2017 | -4.7 |
Jan 2018 | -4.4 |
Feb 2018 | -4.3 |
Mar 2018 | -6.1 |
Apr 2018 | -7.4 |
May 2018 | -5.6 |
June 2018 | -1.3 |
Jul 2018 | -1.2 |
Aug 2018 | -0.3 |
Sep 2018 | 0.3 |
Oct 2018 | 1.9 |
Nov 2018 | 3.1 |
Dec 2018 | -2.3 |
Jan 2019 | 0.1 |
Feb 2019 | 0.1 |
Mar 2019 | 0.4 |
Apr 2019 | 0.9 |
May 2019 | -0.7 |
Jun 2019 | -2.4 |
Jul 2019 | -2 |
Aug 2019 | -1.2 |
Sep 2019 | -0.7 |
Oct 2019 | -2.2 |
Nov 2019 | -1.9 |
Dec 2019 | -2 |
Jan 2020 | -4.2 |
Feb 2020 | -1.4 |
Mar 2020 | -5.4 |
Apr 2020 | -8.3 |
May 2020 | -9.3 |
Jun 2020 | -10.4 |
Jul 2020 | -10.6 |
Aug 2020 | -12.4 |
Sep 2020 | -12.4 |
Oct 2020 | -5.1 |
Nov 2020 | -10.7 |
Dec 2020 | -14.5 |
Jan 2021 | -12.6 |
Feb 2021 | -14 |
Mar 2021 | -10.1 |
Apr 2021 | -7 |
May 2021 | -7.6 |
Jun 2021 | -5.3 |
Jul 2021 | -2.1 |
Aug 2021 | -1.4 |
Sep 2021 | -1.9 |
Oct 2021 | -2.6 |
Nov 2021 | 0.2 |
Dec 2021 | 4.5 |
Jan 2022 | 3.5 |
Feb 2022 | 2.8 |
Mar 2022 | 4.4 |
Apr 2022 | 5.2 |
May 2022 | 7.3 |
Jun 2022 | 6.2 |
Jul 2022 | 6.2 |
Aug 2022 | 4.7 |
Sep 2022 | 6.1 |
Oct 2022 | 8 |
Nov 2022 | 3.8 |
Dec 2022 | 2.5 |
Jan 2023 | 3.7 |
Feb 2023 | 3.6 |
Mar 2023 | 1.5 |
Apr 2023 | -0.7 |
May 2023 | -1.1 |
Jun 2023 | -0.6 |
Jul 2023 | -5.2 |
Aug 2023 | -0.3 |
Sep 2023 | -1.6 |
Oct 2023 | -2.4 |
Nov 2023 | 1.4 |
Dec 2023 | 2.1 |
Jan 2024 | 2.2 |
Feb 2024 | 3.3 |
Mar 2024 | 2 |
Home | Export | |
Jan 2015 | 100.2 | 96.8 |
Feb 2015 | 99.6 | 98.8 |
Mar 2015 | 99.9 | 101.1 |
Apr 2015 | 99.8 | 102.6 |
May 2015 | 100 | 100.2 |
Jun 2015 | 99.9 | 99.8 |
Jul 2015 | 100 | 99.8 |
Aug 2015 | 100.3 | 100.2 |
Sep 2015 | 100.2 | 98.9 |
Oct 2015 | 100 | 96.6 |
Nov 2015 | 100 | 102.8 |
Dec 2015 | 100 | 102.5 |
Jan 2016 | 100 | 100.2 |
Feb 2016 | 99.1 | 99.9 |
Mar 2016 | 99.5 | 98.9 |
Apr 2016 | 100.8 | 98.1 |
May 2016 | 100.9 | 98.9 |
Jun 2016 | 101 | 97.7 |
Jul 2016 | 101 | 98.1 |
Aug 2016 | 100.1 | 98.7 |
Sep 2016 | 100 | 96.4 |
Oct 2016 | 100 | 97.6 |
Nov 2016 | 100.1 | 101.5 |
Dec 2016 | 100.1 | 102.4 |
Jan 2017 | 100.4 | 100.8 |
Feb 2017 | 99.2 | 100.1 |
Mar 2017 | 99.5 | 102.6 |
Apr 2017 | 99.5 | 103.7 |
May 2017 | 99.4 | 103.7 |
Jun 2017 | 99.5 | 100.3 |
Jul 2017 | 99.6 | 99.2 |
Aug 2017 | 99.5 | 97.9 |
Sep 2017 | 99.8 | 97.2 |
Oct 2017 | 99.7 | 90.2 |
Nov 2017 | 97.7 | 91.9 |
Dec 2017 | 97.7 | 97.5 |
Jan 2018 | 98 | 96.4 |
Feb 2018 | 98.1 | 95.7 |
Mar 2018 | 98.4 | 96.1 |
Apr 2018 | 98.8 | 95.6 |
May 2018 | 98.6 | 97.7 |
Jun 2018 | 98.9 | 99 |
Jul 2018 | 99 | 98 |
Aug 2018 | 99 | 97.6 |
Sep 2018 | 99.4 | 97.5 |
Oct 2018 | 99.4 | 92 |
Nov 2018 | 99.4 | 94.9 |
Dec 2018 | 99.7 | 95.2 |
Jan 2019 | 100.6 | 96.4 |
Feb 2019 | 101.3 | 95.6 |
Mar 2019 | 101.2 | 96.4 |
Apr 2019 | 101.1 | 96.5 |
May 2019 | 101.1 | 96.8 |
Jun 2019 | 101.1 | 96.4 |
Jul 2019 | 101.3 | 95.8 |
Aug 2019 | 101.4 | 96.3 |
Sep 2019 | 101.3 | 96.8 |
Oct 2019 | 101.1 | 89.8 |
Nov 2019 | 101.3 | 93 |
Dec 2019 | 101 | 93 |
Jan 2020 | 99.7 | 92.1 |
Feb 2020 | 100 | 94.4 |
Mar 2020 | 100.1 | 91.1 |
Apr 2020 | 99.7 | 88.2 |
May 2020 | 99.6 | 87.5 |
Jun 2020 | 99.7 | 86.1 |
Jul 2020 | 99.7 | 85.2 |
Aug 2020 | 99.6 | 83.9 |
Sep 2020 | 99.9 | 84.3 |
Oct 2020 | 99.9 | 85 |
Nov 2020 | 99.5 | 82.6 |
Dec 2020 | 99.6 | 79.1 |
Jan 2021 | 100 | 79.9 |
Feb 2021 | 99.5 | 80.7 |
Mar 2021 | 99.8 | 81.4 |
Apr 2021 | 100.2 | 81.7 |
May 2021 | 100.9 | 80.4 |
Jun 2021 | 101.5 | 81.2 |
Jul 2021 | 102.5 | 83.2 |
Aug 2021 | 102.4 | 82.5 |
Sep 2021 | 102.8 | 82.4 |
Oct 2021 | 103.9 | 82.7 |
Nov 2021 | 104.5 | 82.5 |
Dec 2021 | 105.5 | 82.5 |
Jan 2022 | 107.9 | 82.5 |
Feb 2022 | 105.7 | 82.8 |
Mar 2022 | 106.1 | 84.9 |
Apr 2022 | 107.3 | 85.9 |
May 2022 | 108.9 | 86.2 |
Jun 2022 | 109.6 | 86.1 |
Jul 2022 | 112.2 | 88.2 |
Aug 2022 | 113.2 | 86.1 |
Sep 2022 | 113.5 | 87.3 |
Oct 2022 | 114.6 | 89.1 |
Nov 2022 | 114.8 | 85.5 |
Dec 2022 | 114.9 | 84.4 |
Jan 2023 | 116.8 | 85.4 |
Feb 2023 | 116.9 | 85.4 |
Mar 2023 | 115.9 | 85.8 |
Apr 2023 | 115.7 | 84.9 |
May 2023 | 114.7 | 85 |
Jun 2023 | 113.9 | 85.4 |
Jul 2023 | 112.4 | 83.4 |
Aug 2023 | 112 | 85.8 |
Sep 2023 | 111.3 | 85.9 |
Oct 2023 | 111 | 87 |
Nov 2023 | 110.6 | 86.9 |
Dec 2023 | 110.6 | 86.4 |
Jan 2024 | 109.8 | 87.7 |
Feb 2024 | 113 | 88.6 |
Mar 2024 | 113.2 | 87.8 |
Notable annual increases and decreases in construction products as shown in Table 3 include:
The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) increased by 0.1% in the month to March 2024 and rose by 0.6% in the 12 months to March 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 an increase in the price of wholesale electricity in March 2024 with prices 2.4% higher than the previous month. The price of electricity was 40.3% lower than in March 2023 and 70.4% lower than in March 2022. Wholesale electricity prices in March 2024 were down 76.6% compared to August 2022, when prices were at their highest since the series began in January 2015. The overall Energy Products Index was up by 0.2% since February 2024 but fell by 31.9% when compared with March 2023 (See Figure 3 and Table 5).
Wholesale Price Index - Electricity | |
Jan 2021 | 144.7 |
Feb 2021 | 106.2 |
Mar 2021 | 134.5 |
Apr 2021 | 157.7 |
May 2021 | 178.5 |
Jun 2021 | 175.4 |
Jul 2021 | 264.7 |
Aug 2021 | 242.6 |
Sep 2021 | 360.9 |
Oct 2021 | 396.1 |
Nov 2021 | 377.8 |
Dec 2021 | 462.2 |
Jan 2022 | 371.8 |
Feb 2022 | 323.5 |
Mar 2022 | 541.3 |
Apr 2022 | 402.9 |
May 2022 | 264.5 |
Jun 2022 | 335.6 |
Jul 2022 | 493.2 |
Aug 2022 | 715.5 |
Sep 2022 | 522.9 |
Oct 2022 | 251.2 |
Nov 2022 | 264.2 |
Dec 2022 | 510.4 |
Jan 2023 | 299.3 |
Feb 2023 | 293.8 |
Mar 2023 | 268.1 |
Apr 2023 | 231.8 |
May 2023 | 194.2 |
Jun 2023 | 216.2 |
Jul 2023 | 177.6 |
Aug 2023 | 196.5 |
Sep 2023 | 206 |
Oct 2023 | 231.7 |
Nov 2023 | 226.9 |
Dec 2023 | 164.2 |
Jan 2024 | 184.4 |
Feb 2024 | 156.2 |
Mar 2024 | 160 |
For more information on the categories of products in Table 3 see Description of Products for Building and Construction.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 April 2024) released the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for March 2024.
Commenting on the release, Deirdre Toher, Statistician in the Prices Division, said:
“Wholesale price inflation showed a decrease in March 2024 with a fall of 0.9% in the overall Producer Price Index for manufacturing industries in the month. The price index for export sales was also down by 0.9% since February 2024, while the index for home sales rose by 0.2% in the month. Producer prices for products sold on the domestic market were 2.3% lower in March 2024 compared with March 2023. In the year, export producer prices rose by 2.3% while overall producer prices were up by 2.0%.
Food Products
Producer prices for food products were unchanged in the month but dropped by 9.1% in the 12 months to March 2024. This comes after a previous monthly increase of 0.5% in February 2024.
Producer prices for Dairy Products grew by 2.2% in the month to March 2024 but dropped by 23.7% since March 2023. Several other food categories showed notable changes in March 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023, including Other Food Products (-11.5%), Grain Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds (-6.8%), Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats (-6.0%), and Fish & Fish Products (+7.1%) (See Table 2).
Construction Materials
The All Materials Index for construction products rose by 0.2% in March 2024 but fell by 0.3% in the year since March 2023, while the Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) was up by 0.1% in the month and was 0.6% higher than the same month last year (See Tables 3 and 4)."