Producer Prices in Eurozone Surge More Than Forecast in December

Data released on Friday revealed that yearly producer price growth in the Eurozone slowed in December, but was still higher than predicted. This was due to the higher prices seen in the market for durable consumer products.

Factory gate prices in the 19 eurozone countries increased by 1.1% month-over-month in December, for an annual increase of 24.6%, slowing from November’s 27.0% annual gain.

Economists polled by Reuters predicted a 0.4% monthly drop in prices and a slowing to 22.5% year over year.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has continued to squeeze energy supplies, driving up prices for producers by 2.5% month-over-month and 48.6% year-over-year.

Excluding the highly volatile cost of energy, producer prices fell 0.1% month over month and increased 12.3% over the past year, down from November’s 13.2% annual increase.