(CEP News) Frankfurt - Euro zone producer prices surprised to the downside in February, adding to mounting evidence that inflationary pressures are easing in the monetary union.
Eurostat reported that euro zone producer price fell 1.8% in the 12 months to February, outdoing both the 1.5% decline expected and January's 0.7% contraction. Meanwhile, January's figure was revised down from an initial estimate of -0.5%. February's annualized fall is the most pronounced recorded since April 1999.
Energy price decline led the way in PPI falls, contracting 4.5% year-over-year, followed by intermediate goods prices, which slipped 3.0%. Conversely, both capital goods and durable consumer goods costs rose in the year at 1.8% and 2.0% respectively.
Between January and February, producer prices fell 0.5% as expected following the previous month's 1.1% decrease, revised down from -0.8%.
The strongest decline was noted in intermediate goods, the price for which fell 0.9% between January and February. Energy prices slipped 0.7% over the same period, while non-durable consumer goods contracted 0.3%.
