LONDON (SHARECAST) - Producer prices – the amount charged for goods leaving the factory gate – climbed by the least in a year in August as falling oil prices eased cost burdens on manufacturers.
Factory gate prices climbed by 0.1% during the month, the smallest increase since September 2010, compared with a 0.3% increase in July.
Input prices fell by 1.9% during August, helped by a 5.9% fall in crude oil prices.
The slight increase in producer prices was due mainly to higher prices for chemical and pharmaceutical products.
“We expect more easing in input price pressures in the coming months, which should eventually feed into lower producer price inflation,” analysts at Barclays Capital Research said.
“Weak demand might also push firms towards accepting a squeeze in margins, further containing output price inflation.”
