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Wholesale Price Index March 2026

Wholesale electricity prices rose by over 19% in the month to March 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-5198

CSO statistical release, 28 April 2026, 11am

Key Findings

Wholesale electricity prices rose by 19.2% in the month to March 2026 but were 2.4% lower than March 2025.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 3.5% higher in March 2026 compared with March 2025, while producer prices for exported goods were down by 0.6%. Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 0.2% lower in the year.
Producer prices for food products decreased by 1.6% in the 12 months to March 2026, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco Index was down by 1.7%.
One of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to March 2026 was for Fish & Fish Products (+6.1%).
The most noteworthy changes in other producer prices in the year to March 2026 were: Chemicals & Chemical Products (+20.8%), Pulp, Paper & Paper Products (+4.6%), Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery & Equipment (+4.6%), and Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products (+4.0%).
Wholesale prices for Construction Products increased by 0.1% in the month to March 2026 and rose by 1.7% in the 12 months since March 2025.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 April 2026) published the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for March 2026.

Commenting on the release, Deirdre Toher, Statistician in the Prices Division, said:

“Wholesale price inflation showed an increase in March 2026 with a 3.1% growth in the overall Producer Price Index for manufacturing industries in the month.

The price index for export sales was up by 3.3% since February 2026, while the index for home sales was up by 1.2% in the month.

Producer prices for products sold on the domestic market were 3.5% higher in March 2026 compared with March 2025. In the 12 months to March 2026, export producer prices fell by 0.6%, while overall producer prices were down by 0.2%.

It should be noted that the monthly March changes capture the initial impact of the events in the Middle East.

Electricity and Food Prices

Wholesale electricity prices rose by 19.2% in March 2026 when compared with February 2026 but were 2.4% lower than March 2025. They have fallen by 66.8% when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.

Producer prices for food products increased by 1.0% since February 2026 but fell by 1.6% in the year since March 2025. One of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to March 2026 was for Fish & Fish Products (+6.1%) (See Table 2).

Construction Products

The All Materials Index for Construction Products went up by 0.1% in March 2026 and rose by 1.7% in the 12 months since March 2025. The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) was unchanged in the month and was 2.4% higher than the same month last year (See Tables 3 and 4).”

Key Figures

Wholesale Price Index- March 2026
	Price index Base Year 2021=100	% monthly change	% annual change
Jan 2026	104.7	1.4%	-5.2%
Feb 2026	103.5	-1.1%	-5.5%
Mar 2026	106.7	3.1%	-0.2%

Open in Excel: Wholesale Price Index March 2026 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Wholesale prices for Construction Products increased by 1.7% over the 12 months to March 2026

Notable annual increases and decreases in Construction Products as shown in Table 3 include:

Ready Mixed Mortar & Concrete: (+7.7%)
Copper Pipes & Fittings: (+7.2%)
Sand & Gravel: (+4.9%)
Rough Timber (Hardwood): (+4.6%)
Bituminous Emulsions: (-7.1%)
Electrical Fittings: (-5.6%)

The Building & Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) was unchanged in the month to March 2026 and was up by 2.4% in the 12 months to March 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).

Wholesale electricity prices decreased by 2.4% annually

There was a rise of 19.2% in the price of wholesale electricity in 2026. The price of electricity was 2.4% lower than in March 2025 and was 66.8% lower when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.

The price index for all energy fuels rose by 4.6% in March 2026 and was up by 6.5% in the year since March 2025.

The overall Energy Products Index has risen by 15.2% since February 2026 but was 0.2% lower when compared with March 2025 (See Figure 3 and Table 5).

Table 1 Manufacturing Industries Output Price Indices (excluding VAT)

Table 1 Manufacturing Industries Output Price Indices (excluding VAT)
Base Year 2021=100
		Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index			Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index (Home Sales)		Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index (Export Sales)
		Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index			Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index (Home Sales)		Manufacturing Industries Output Price Index (Export Sales)
Period		Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period	Annual % change	Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period	Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period
Period		Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period	Annual % change	Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period	Price Index	% Change on Preceding Period
2021	Year	100.0			100.0		100.0
2022	Year	109.0	9.0	9.0	110.7	10.7	108.8	8.8
2023	Year	107.5	-1.4	-1.4	115.1	4.0	106.8	-1.8
2024	Year	108.5	0.9	0.9	115.4	0.3	107.8	0.9
2025	Year	105.3	-2.9	-2.9	116.6	1.0	104.2	-3.3

2021	Quarter 1	98.7			98.2		98.7
	Quarter 2	98.4	-0.3		99.3	1.1	98.4	-0.3
	Quarter 3	100.2	1.8		100.6	1.3	100.2	1.8
	Quarter 4	102.6	2.4		101.9	1.3	102.7	2.5

2022	Quarter 1	103.8	1.2	5.2	104.7	2.7	103.7	1.0
	Quarter 2	108.9	4.9	10.7	109.5	4.6	108.8	4.9
	Quarter 3	112.2	3.0	12.0	113.4	3.6	112.0	2.9
	Quarter 4	111.2	-0.9	8.4	115.2	1.6	110.8	-1.1

2023	Quarter 1	108.6	-2.3	4.6	116.1	0.8	107.8	-2.7
	Quarter 2	106.8	-1.7	-1.9	115.5	-0.5	105.9	-1.8
	Quarter 3	106.8	0.0	-4.8	114.2	-1.1	106.1	0.2
	Quarter 4	108.0	1.1	-2.9	114.4	0.2	107.3	1.1

2024	Quarter 1	109.1	1.0	0.5	115.0	0.5	108.5	1.1
	Quarter 2	108.8	-0.3	1.9	115.3	0.3	108.2	-0.3
	Quarter 3	106.7	-1.9	-0.1	115.4	0.1	105.9	-2.1
	Quarter 4	109.3	2.4	1.2	115.8	0.3	108.6	2.5

2025	Quarter 1	109.0	-0.3	-0.1	116.5	0.6	108.3	-0.3
	Quarter 2	105.2	-3.5	-3.3	116.2	-0.3	104.2	-3.8
	Quarter 3	103.5	-1.6	-3.0	116.8	0.5	102.2	-1.9
	Quarter 4	103.7	0.2	-5.1	117.0	0.2	102.4	0.2

2026	Quarter 1	105.0	1.3	-3.7	118.9	1.6	103.6	1.2

2021	January	97.8			97.3		97.8
	February	99.2	1.4		98.5		99.2
	March	99.1	-0.1		98.7		99.2
	April	98.8	-0.3		98.9		98.8
	May	98.2	-0.6		99.4		98.1
	June	98.3	0.1		99.6		98.2
	July	100.1	1.8		100.4		100.1
	August	100.4	0.3		100.6		100.4
	September	100.2	-0.2		100.7		100.2
	October	101.6	1.4		101.3		101.7
	November	102.6	1.0		101.5		102.7
	December	103.5	0.9		102.9		103.6

2022	January	103.2	-0.3	5.5	103.4	0.5	103.2	-0.4
	February	102.7	-0.5	3.5	104.7	1.3	102.5	-0.7
	March	105.4	2.6	6.4	106.1	1.3	105.4	2.8
	April	106.6	1.1	7.9	108.7	2.5	106.4	0.9
	May	109.9	3.1	11.9	109.5	0.7	110.0	3.4
	June	110.1	0.2	12.0	110.2	0.6	110.1	0.1
	July	112.5	2.2	12.4	112.1	1.7	112.5	2.2
	August	111.2	-1.2	10.8	113.0	0.8	111.0	-1.3
	September	112.8	1.4	12.6	115.1	1.9	112.6	1.4
	October	115.4	2.3	13.6	115.4	0.3	115.4	2.5
	November	109.9	-4.8	7.1	115.1	-0.3	109.4	-5.2
	December	108.2	-1.5	4.5	115.1	0.0	107.5	-1.7

2023	January	108.3	0.1	4.9	116.3	1.0	107.5	0.0
	February	108.3	0.0	5.5	116.4	0.1	107.5	0.0
	March	109.1	0.7	3.5	115.7	-0.6	108.5	0.9
	April	105.8	-3.0	-0.8	115.6	-0.1	104.8	-3.4
	May	107.1	1.2	-2.5	115.5	-0.1	106.2	1.3
	June	107.5	0.4	-2.4	115.4	-0.1	106.7	0.5
	July	104.7	-2.6	-6.9	113.9	-1.3	103.8	-2.7
	August	106.9	2.1	-3.9	114.2	0.3	106.2	2.3
	September	108.8	1.8	-3.5	114.5	0.3	108.3	2.0
	October	109.6	0.7	-5.0	114.5	0.0	109.1	0.7
	November	107.4	-2.0	-2.3	114.2	-0.3	106.7	-2.2
	December	106.9	-0.5	-1.2	114.5	0.3	106.1	-0.6

2024	January	108.2	1.2	-0.1	115.1	0.5	107.6	1.4
	February	110.0	1.7	1.6	115.2	0.1	109.5	1.8
	March	109.0	-0.9	-0.1	114.8	-0.3	108.4	-1.0
	April	109.3	0.3	3.3	115.2	0.3	108.7	0.3
	May	108.1	-1.1	0.9	115.3	0.1	107.4	-1.2
	June	109.1	0.9	1.5	115.5	0.2	108.5	1.0
	July	107.4	-1.6	2.6	115.5	0.0	106.6	-1.8
	August	106.8	-0.6	-0.1	115.4	-0.1	105.9	-0.7
	September	106.0	-0.7	-2.6	115.4	0.0	105.1	-0.8
	October	107.7	1.6	-1.7	115.6	0.2	106.9	1.7
	November	109.7	1.9	2.1	115.6	0.0	109.2	2.2
	December	110.4	0.6	3.3	116.1	0.4	109.8	0.5

2025	January	110.5	0.1	2.1	116.7	0.5	109.9	0.1
	February	109.5	-0.9	-0.5	116.4	-0.3	108.9	-0.9
	March	106.9	-2.4	-1.9	116.3	-0.1	106.0	-2.7
	April	105.4	-1.4	-3.6	116.2	-0.1	104.3	-1.6
	May	106.2	0.8	-1.8	116.3	0.1	105.3	1.0
	June	104.1	-2.0	-4.6	116.1	-0.2	102.9	-2.3
	July	103.6	-0.5	-3.5	116.7	0.5	102.4	-0.5
	August	103.6	0.0	-3.0	116.8	0.1	102.3	-0.1
	September	103.2	-0.4	-2.6	116.8	0.0	101.8	-0.5
	October	103.9	0.7	-3.5	117.0	0.2	102.6	0.8
	November	103.9	0.0	-5.3	116.9	-0.1	102.6	0.0
	December	103.3	-0.6	-6.4	117.0	0.1	101.9	-0.7

2026	January	104.7	1.4	-5.2	117.4	0.3	103.4	1.5
	February	103.5	-1.1	-5.5	119.0	1.4	102.0	-1.4
	March	106.7	3.1	-0.2	120.4	1.2	105.4	3.3

Open in Excel: Wholesale Price Index March 2026 Table 1 (XLS 22KB)

Table 2 Industrial Producer Price Indices (excluding VAT)

Table 2 Industrial Producer Price Indices (excluding VAT)
Base Year 2021=100
Industrial Sector		NACE code¹	Index		Monthly % Change			Annual % Change
			Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Jan 2025	Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Mar 2026
			Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Jan 2025	Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Mar 2026
Food Products		10	116.5	117.7	-0.2	-0.7	1.0	-1.6
	Meat and meat products	101	135.3	135.7	-2.1	-0.1	0.3	-0.3
	Fish and fish products	102	135.0	135.0	0.3	1.1	0.0	6.1
	Fruit and vegetables	103	100.5	100.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Vegetable and animal oils and fats	104	78.1	78.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Dairy products	105	124.3	124.3	0.0	-0.6	0.0	-0.6
	Grain milling, starches and animal feeds	106,109	111.9	111.9	0.0	0.2	0.0	-0.3
	Bakery and farinaceous products	107	113.8	113.9	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.1
	Other food products	108	107.1	109.3	0.6	-1.3	2.1	-3.1
Beverages		11	112.1	113.2	0.4	-0.6	1.0	-2.2
Tobacco		12	..	..	..	..	..	..
Textiles		13	108.3	108.4	0.1	-0.1	0.1	-0.7
Wearing apparel		14	108.0	107.4	0.1	0.0	-0.6	-0.6
Leather and leather products (incl. footwear); dressing and dyeing of fur		15	112.9	113.1	0.4	-0.1	0.2	-0.7
Wood and wood products		16	119.6	120.0	0.1	0.5	0.3	1.0
Pulp, paper and paper products		17	110.0	110.8	2.1	-1.5	0.7	4.6
Printing and reproduction of recorded media		18	104.8	104.8	0.0	1.7	0.0	2.7
Coke and refined petroleum products		19	..	..	..	..	..	..
Chemicals and chemical products		20	122.3	122.4	2.9	0.0	0.1	20.8
Basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations		21	..	..	..	..	..	..
Rubber and plastic products		22	113.6	113.0	0.3	-0.2	-0.5	-1.1
Other non-metallic mineral products		23	129.1	129.8	0.2	0.9	0.5	4.0
Basic metals		24	112.6	113.5	0.8	-1.7	0.8	-1.9
Fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment		25	129.2	130.8	0.9	1.0	1.2	4.6
Computer, electronic and optical products		26	..	..	..	..	..	..
Electrical equipment		27	118.2	118.4	0.2	-1.4	0.2	-1.7
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.		28	..	..	..	..	..	..
Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers		29	104.5	104.7	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4
Other transport equipment		30	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Furniture		31	119.2	119.2	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.4
Other Manufacturing		32	..	..	..	..	..	..
Repair and installation of machinery and equipment		33	..	..	..	..	..	..
Mining and quarrying		05-09	100.1	102.6	0.3	-0.5	2.5	0.3

Total transportable goods industries			103.5	106.7	1.4	-1.1	3.1	-0.2

Food products, Beverages and Tobacco Products		10-12	115.9	117.1	-0.1	-0.7	1.0	-1.7
Manufacturing industries excluding Food Products			102.1	105.6	1.6	-1.3	3.4	0.0
Manufacturing industries excluding Food Products, Beverages and Tobacco Products			102.0	105.5	1.6	-1.2	3.4	0.1
Intermediate goods industries (except energy)			..	..	..	..	..	..
Capital goods industries			..	..	..	..	..	..
Durable consumer goods industries			..	..	..	..	..	..
Non-durable consumer goods industries			..	..	..	..	..	..

Manufacturing industries (home sales)²			119.0	120.4	0.3	1.4	1.2	3.5
Manufacturing industries (export sales)²			102.0	105.4	1.5	-1.4	3.3	-0.6
Total manufacturing industries²			103.5	106.7	1.4	-1.1	3.1	-0.2
¹ Nace Rev. 2 Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community.
² Excludes Mining and quarrying.
.. Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.

Open in Excel: Wholesale Price Index March 2026 Table 2 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 3 Detailed Wholesale Price Indices (excluding VAT) for Building and Construction Materials

Table 3 Detailed Wholesale Price Indices (excluding VAT) for Building and Construction Materials
Base Year 2021=100
Materials			Index		Monthly % Change			Annual % Change
			Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Jan 2025	Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Mar 2026
			Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Jan 2025	Feb 2026	Mar 2026	Mar 2026
Stone, sand and gravel			135.3	136.6	1.3	-0.1	1.0	3.8
	Stone		133.6	135.0	1.7	-0.3	1.0	3.6
	Sand and gravel		143.4	144.7	-0.5	1.0	0.9	4.9
Cement			155.5	155.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.7
Ready mixed mortar and concrete			155.7	158.6	1.0	1.6	1.9	7.7
Concrete blocks and bricks			134.1	134.0	2.2	0.6	-0.1	-0.6
Other concrete products including precast¹			146.2	146.2	0.0	-0.1	0.0	0.6
Structural steel and reinforcing metal			131.5	131.5	1.5	1.0	0.0	1.7
	Structural steel		174.2	174.2	0.1	1.0	0.0	1.2
		Structural steel fabricated metal	181.6	181.6	0.0	1.1	0.0	1.1
		Other Structural steel	116.5	116.5	0.8	0.0	0.0	2.6
	Reinforcing metal		80.7	80.8	5.3	0.9	0.1	2.9
	Other steel products		128.0	128.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.3
Rough timber (including plain sawn)			91.9	91.9	1.2	0.0	0.0	3.6
	Rough timber (hardwood)		111.4	111.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.6
	Rough timber (softwood)		89.7	89.7	1.4	0.0	0.0	3.5
Machined, treated engineered timber			143.7	143.7	0.6	0.3	0.0	3.5
	Wooden windows and doors		141.4	141.4	0.0	0.1	0.0	2.5
	Other treated timber		146.1	146.1	1.2	0.5	0.0	4.4
Bituminous macadam, asphalt and bituminous emulsions			125.8	126.5	0.5	1.6	0.6	2.0
	Bituminous macadam and asphalt		126.3	127.2	0.6	1.6	0.7	2.3
	Bituminous emulsions		112.4	110.5	0.0	0.0	-1.7	-7.1
Electrical fittings			107.2	104.1	0.3	0.5	-2.9	-5.6
	Lighting equipment		100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Protection & communication equipment		122.5	122.8	1.1	2.7	0.2	-1.4
All other materials			126.8	127.1	0.3	0.3	0.2	1.9
	Plumbing materials incl. sanitary ware		125.7	126.1	0.0	-2.0	0.3	-0.9
	HVAC (heating & ventilation equipment)		110.5	111.3	1.2	-0.4	0.7	-1.7
	Insulating materials		126.4	126.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4
	Pipes and fittings		145.6	146.1	1.0	0.1	0.3	5.3
		PVC pipes and fittings	136.1	136.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	-0.8
		Copper pipes and fittings	148.7	149.3	1.3	0.2	0.4	7.2
	Plaster		146.0	145.1	0.1	0.2	-0.6	0.6
	Paints, oils and varnishes		134.8	136.3	0.0	0.0	1.1	2.0
	Glass		116.0	116.0	0.0	4.0	0.0	4.0
	All other metal fittings		107.0	107.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	All other products		120.6	120.8	0.0	0.8	0.2	1.4
All materials			129.0	129.1	0.7	0.5	0.1	1.7
¹ This table was updated on 23rd March 2023. The subcategories Precast Concrete and Other Concrete Products (excluding precast concrete) will no longer be maintained from February 2023. The higher-level category Other Concrete Products Including Precast includes products from both these subcategories and this index can be used as an approximation to the obsolete subcategories.

Open in Excel: Wholesale Price Index March 2026 Table 3 (XLS 12KB)

Visit Table WPM39 on PxStat

For more information on the categories of products in Table 3 see Description of Products for Building and Construction.

Table 4 Capital Goods Price Indices (excluding VAT)

Table 5 Wholesale Price Indices (excluding VAT) for Energy Products (i.e. Fuels purchased by Manufacturing Industry)

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Wholesale Price Index March 2026