Madrid/Oviedo (EFE).- Industrial prices fell 1.6 percent in Asturias in December in the interannual rate due to the energy component, in contrast to the 8.7 percent rise registered the previous month, according to the data published this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Specifically, industrial prices fell in the Principality by 12 percent year-on-year in energy, while they rose 19.3 percent in consumer goods; 4.4 percent in the team, and 1.3 percent in the intermediate.
In the country as a whole, the increase in industrial prices in Spain moderated again in December, rising by 14.7% year-on-year, the lowest rate since April 2021 and 6 points below the rate registered in November ( 20.7%), due to the lower cost of electricity production and transportation.
According to data from the industrial price index (IPRI), industrial inflation has been falling for eight months (with the exception of August) from the 47% marked in March, which was a record in the historical series.
The moderation in December is due to the lower increase in energy prices, with a rate of 22.8%, almost 15 points below that of November, caused mainly by the decrease in the prices of production, transport and electricity distribution, which increased in the same month of 2021.
In the energy sector, there was also a drop, although to a lesser extent, in oil refining, whose prices fell more than they did in December 2021, and the increase in the cost of gas production and distribution by gaseous fuel pipeline, compared to the decrease registered a year earlier.
Intermediate goods also influence the moderation of the IPRI, with a rate 2.5 points lower, up to 10.6%, due to cheaper manufacturing of basic chemical products, nitrogenous compounds, fertilizers, plastics, and synthetic rubber in forms primary industries and the manufacture of basic iron, steel and ferroalloy products.
Among the industrial sectors with a positive influence, non-durable consumer goods stand out, whose variation stood at 14.6%, one tenth above that of the previous month, as a result of the increase in the cost of manufacturing vegetable oils and fats and animals.
The branches of activity with the highest price increases were coking plants and petroleum refining (35.4%), the food industry (20.5%), the paper industry (18.6%) and the wood industry and cork (except furniture), basketry and plaiting (16.3%), details the INE.
INDUSTRIAL INFLATION INCREASED 35.5% IN 2022
Industrial prices rose 35.5% on average during 2022, their largest increase since the beginning of the historical series, in 1975, according to the National Institute of Statistics.
Meanwhile, the annual variation rate of the general index without energy decreased by more than one point, to 11.1%, and was more than three and a half points below that of the general IPRI.
In the monthly rate, the IPRI falls by 1.7% and the sectors that have a negative impact are energy, with a decrease of 4.8%, and intermediate goods, which decrease by 1.1%, while they are rising non-durable consumer goods, which presented a variation of 0.8%.
The annual rate of the IPRI decreased in December in all the autonomous communities, especially in the Balearic Islands, with a rate that stood at 1.3%, 11.9 percentage points less than in November (13.2%); as well as in the Canary Islands, 11.4 points less, and Asturias, where it fell 10.3 points, and in both cases the rate fell to 1.6%. EFE