Ex-Factory Prices Inflation Record 8.2%

The year-on-year producer inflation for all industry was 8.2 percent in July 2018.

The monthly change rate was 0.2 percent.

The manufacturing sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year producer price inflation rate of 10.4 percent, followed by the mining and quarrying subsector with 7.5 percent.

The utilities sub-sector recorded the lowest year-on-year producer inflation of -0.2 percent.

Monthly changes

On the monthly changes, mining and quarrying recorded the highest inflation rate of 0.5 percent.

The Manufacturing and the Utilities subsectors recorded 0.2 percent.

The producer inflation for manufacturing, which constitutes more than two-thirds of total industry, increased by 0.2 percentage points to record 10.4 percent.

The utilities sub-sector recorded inflation of -0.2 percent in July 2018, representing an increase of 0.2 percentage point relative to the rate recorded in June 2018 (-0.4 percent).

2017 record compared

In July 2017, the producer price inflation rate for all industry was 2.0 percent.

The rate increased consistently to record 8.3 percent in October 2017 but declined to 7.1 percent in November 2017.

In December 2017, it resumed a downward trend to record 3.7 percent in March 2018.

Since then, it increased consistently to record 8.2 percent in July 2018.

Items in manufacturing

During the month of July 2018, three out of 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 10.4 percent.

Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel recorded the highest inflation rate of 42.2 percent, while manufacture of rubber and plastic products recorded the lowest producer price inflation rate of -1.7%.

Petroleum

The producer inflation rate in the petroleum subsector was -2.7 percent in July 2017.

The rate increased consistently to record 36.9 percent in October 2017 but declined to 27.7 percent in November 2017.

The rate increased to 36.4 percent in December 2017 but declined consistently to record 15.9 percent in March 2018.

Subsequently, the rate consistently increased again to record 44.2 percent in June 2018, but decreased to 42.2 percent in July 2018.