Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) has released the Monthly Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Industrial sector for September 2020 with the base year 2013. Producer price index covers goods relating to “Mining” (weight: 72.7%), “Manufacturing” (weight: 26.8%), and “Electricity & Water” (weight: 0.5%). 

The PPI of September, 2020 for this sector showed an increase by 4.0 % when compared with PPI of August 2020, primarily due to the price increase  of “Crude petroleum and natural gas” by 4.0%, while “Stone, Sand and Clay” decreased by 1.2%. PPI of September 2020, when compared with its counterpart in previous year (September 2019), there was a decrease of 37.0%.

 An increase of 1.4% has been recorded in September 2020, when compared with the previous month’s Manufacturing index (August, 2020). The prices increase are seen in: “Basic Metals” by 8.4%, followed by “Juices” by 1.3%, “Cement and Other non-metallic products” by 1.0%,“Refined Petroleum products” by 0.6%, “Basic Chemicals", and “Other chemical products and fibers” by 0.5 each%, “Dairy products” by 0.2%, and “Grain mill and Other products” by 0.1%. However, the decreasing prices are noticed in “Beverages” by 0.4%. no change was observed in “Paper and Paper products”, and “Rubber and Plastics products”.

 

Comparing with the index of counterpart in the previous year (September 2019), “Manufacturing” PPI of September 2020 showed a decrease of 20.0%. The major groups which explain this price fall are: “Refined Petroleum products” by 26.1%, followed by “Basic chemicals” by 15.9%, "Rubber and Plastics products” by 5.2%, “Other chemical products and fibers” by 3.8%, "Cement and Other non-metallic products” and “Basic Metals” by 1.6 each%, and “Dairy products” by 1.4%. However, prices increased in "Juices" by 5.1%, and “Paper and Paper Products” by 5.1 each %, followed by “Grain mill and Other products” by 0.2%. and “Beverages” by 0.1%. 

  

The PPI of this group showed a decrease of 5.3% compared to August 2020, resulting from price fall in “Water”  by 10.0%, and “Electricity” by 0.5%. When compared the PPI of September, 2020, to the PPI of September, 2019 [Y-o-Y],  also showed  a decrease of  3.3%, affected by  prices decline  in “Water” by 4.7%, and in “Electricity”  by 1.9%.

The PPI for September,2020 is estimated at 42.1 points showing an increase of 2.9%, when compared to the previous month’s August 2020. On [Y-o-Y] basis, PPI of September, 2020 showed a decrease of  31.4% when compared to the PPI of September,2019.

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