BLBG:Euro-Area Producer Prices Rise for First Time in Three Months
Euro-area producer prices increased from a year earlier for the first time in three months in June as the economy showed increasing signs of starting to pull out of a record-long recession.
Factory-gate prices in the 17-nation euro area rose 0.3 percent after a 0.2 percent annual drop in May, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That matched the median estimate of 16 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Prices of durable consumer goods rose 0.7 percent in June, while non-durable goods showed a 2.3 percent gain, according to today’s report. Prices of capital goods increased 0.6 percent.
Energy prices fell 0.6 percent in June, a fourth straight decline, and intermediate goods dropped 0.4 percent.
Euro-area annual consumer-price growth has been below the ECB’s 2 percent ceiling since February. The European Central Bank yesterday left its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.5 percent and reiterated last months’ forward guidance that all key rates will stay at current levels or lower for an “extended period of time.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Henry in Brussels at phenry8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net
