Wholesale prices rose by 0.2 per cent in March and increased by 2.7 per cent year-on-year compared with an annual rise of 2.5 per cent in February, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The index for export sales contributed most to the annual increase, rising by 5.4 per cent in the year, whereas the index for home sales went up by just 0.1 per cent. Most of the changes in the export sales index were due to currency fluctuations, the CSO said.

The most notable price changes in March were in vegetable and animal oils and fats which increased by 1.4 per cent and in the cost of leather, leather goods and footwear which fell by 1.1 per cent. Prices in the meat sector edged up by 0.6 per cent in March after declining by 6.6 per cent over the previous three months.