Eurozone Sees 0.7 Percent Drop in Producer Prices

(MENAFN) Producer prices across the eurozone retreated sharply in February, delivering a broad monthly decline driven predominantly by falling energy costs — even as analysts brace for a potential reversal when March figures emerge.

Official data released Wednesday by Eurostat revealed that industrial producer prices in the euro area contracted by 0.7% on a monthly basis in February, while the broader EU recorded a more modest decline of 0.5% over the same period.

Breaking down February's monthly movements across product categories, prices edged up 0.2% for durable consumer goods and climbed 0.3% each for both intermediate and capital goods. Contrasting those modest gains, non-durable consumer goods slipped 0.2%, while energy prices registered a steep 2.4% drop — emerging as the single largest drag on the overall index.

At the national level, Spain posted the steepest monthly contraction among eurozone members, with industrial producer prices tumbling 3.1%, followed closely by Ireland at minus 2.6% and Portugal at minus 1.8%. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Croatia led all gainers with a striking 3.8% monthly increase, trailed by Finland at 2.7% and Lithuania at 1.8%.

Zooming out to the annual picture, the data paints an equally subdued inflationary environment — eurozone producer prices fell 3% year-on-year in February, while the broader EU saw a 2.7% annual decline over the same period, underscoring persistent deflationary pressure throughout the bloc's industrial supply chain.

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