Factory price inflation drops to 4.8 %

Year-on-year inflation on ex-factory prices of goods and services was 4.8 percent for April 2017.

This rate represents a 1.2 percentage points decrease in producer inflation relative to the rate recorded in March 2017 which was six percent.

The month-on-month change in the producer price index between March 2017 and April 2017 was -1.3 percent.

Ex-factory price refers to the cost a manufacturer charges a distributor or other buyer to purchase products directly from the source.

Mining and Quarrying

The producer price inflation in the mining and quarrying sub-sector was 18.2 percent in April 2017, declining by 2.6 percentage points over the March 2017 rate of 20.8 percent.

The producer inflation for manufacturing, which constitutes more than two-thirds of total industry, decreased by 1.2 percentage recording 2.9 percent, while the utilities sub-sector recorded an inflation rate of 1.2 percent in April 2017, representing a decrease of 0.3 percentage point over the March 2017 rate.

Manufacturing Sector

During the month of April 2017, nine out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 2.9 percent.

Tanning and dressing of leather recorded the highest inflation rate of 20.8 percent while manufacture of paper and paper products recorded the lowest producer price inflation rate of -5.3 percent.

The producer inflation rate in the petroleum subsector was 6.5 percent in April 2016.