There were signs of an easing in the energy crisis last month as the wholesale price of petrol, diesel, gas, oil, and electricity fell by an average of 22.7 per cent compared with March, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
However, the CSO’s latest wholesale price index also shows prices were up by 125.5 per cent year-on-year, illustrating, among other factors, how the global energy crisis has been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The monthly drop in the cost of wholesale energy products in April was mainly driven by a decrease in wholesale electricity prices, which were 25.6 per cent lower than the previous month.
However, the price of electricity was still 155.5 per cent higher than in April 2021.
More generally, the data shows that annual manufacturing prices increased by 5.2 per cent in the year to April, compared to an increase of 4.4 per cent in the year to March.
Monthly factory gate prices increased by 1.2 per cent in April, with the level of growth three times that of April last year when the rate was 0.4 per cent compared with the previous month.
The CSO said the price index for export sales increased 1.2 per cent in April compared with March, while the index for home sales increased 1.1 per cent.
In the year, there was an increase of 5.1 per cent in the price index for export sales, which can be influenced by currency fluctuations, and an increase of 7.1 per cent in respect of the price index for home sales.
A more detailed breakdown of the figures indicated further evidence of increased costs for the construction sector, with the price of materials overall climbing by 18.2 per cent compared with the same period last year.
