Wholesale electricity prices were 5.6% lower in August than last year

Wholesale electricity prices fell 9.5 per cent in the month to August and were 5.6 per cent lower than in the same month last year, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
Its latest Wholesale Price Index for August, published on Friday, shows electricity prices were 74.1 per cent lower than the peak recorded in August 2022. The price index for all energy fuels dropped by 0.2 per cent in August and fell by 4.5 per cent in the year.
Producer prices for food products dropped 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to August, while the food products, beverages and tobacco index was down 2 per cent.
Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months were fish and fish products, which increased 7.7 per cent, and grain milling, starches and animal feeds, which fell 4.7 per cent.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 0.9 per cent higher in August when compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods were down by 1.9 per cent.
Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 1.7 per cent lower in the year.
The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year to August were in chemicals and chemical products, which were up 22.9 per cent; wood and wood products, which were down 7.9 per cent; and in printing and reproduction of recorded media, which were down 5.8 per cent.
Wholesale prices for construction products were down 0.2 per cent in the month to August but were up 0.3 per cent in the 12 months since last year.
The “all materials index” for construction fell 0.2 per cent in August but increased 0.3 per cent in the year, while the building and construction index – which covers materials and wages – was up 1.4 per cent in the month and 2.5 per cent annually.