Export and import price indices - August 2004
Crude oil increased external trade prices
Publication Date: 14. 10. 2004
Product Code: r-7201-04
Goods import and export price indices in the CR
August 2004
August 2004
Month-on-month comparison:
- Both import and export prices increased in August by 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively and thus rose the second month already. This increase both in import and export was caused mainly by price growth of mineral fuels.
Imports : Prices of ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ increased (+6.2%, for petroleum, petroleum products and related materials in particular). Prices of this section reflected the steep growth of petroleum prices on the world commodity exchange. Prices of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ after drops in previous four months increased by 0.2% in August (mainly telecommunications and sound-recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment). Prices of almost all observed sections increased. From more significant sections only prices of ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ and ‘food and live animals’ decreased (0.1% and 1.8%, respectively).
Exports : prices of ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ increased (+5.3%, for petroleum products in particular). The increase of petroleum prices was the main reason for an increase of prices of ‘chemicals and related products’ by 2.8%. Growth of ‘metalliferous ores and metal scrap’ prices caused an increase of ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ prices by 1.5%. Especially prices of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ decreased (-0.9%, ‘office machines and automatic data-processing machines’ in particular).
- Terms of trade reached the negative value of 99.5% in August, which is the lowest value since December 2002. In some sections positive values changed to negative in comparison with July 2004 (‘machinery and transport equipment’ 98.9%, drop by 1.3 percentage point, ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ 99.2%, drop by 1.5 percentage point in particular). Terms of trade in ‘machinery and transport equipment’ are the lowest since September 1999. Positive value of terms of trade was in ‘chemicals and related products’ and ‘food and live animals’ in particular, both 101.9%.
Year-on-year comparison:
- Import prices increased by 2.2% in August. They rose already for the sixth month and in comparison with the previous month their growth decreased by 0.3 percentage point, but the same as in export prices, at marked appreciation of Czech koruna rate to EUR and USD. The highest growth of import prices was recorded for ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ (+11.9%, petroleum, petroleum products and related materials in particular) and already long-term for ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ (+11.6% metalliferous ores in particular). A decrease occurred mainly at prices of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ (-2.1% telecommunications and sound-recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment in particular). Y-o-y import prices of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ have been continuously decreasing since November 2000.
- Export prices increased y-o-y by 3.8% and continued in their growth, which started in April 2003. However, in August they increased by 0.6 percentage point less than in July and their growth thus slowed down already for the third month. The most significant price growth takes place since November 2003 at ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ (this time by +25.8%, especially in coal and petroleum products). The rise in prices of ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (+9.4%, iron and steel in particular) had a dominant impact on the increase of the total index of export prices. Prices of ‘chemicals and related products’ rose markedly (+13.1%) in context with the price growth of crude oil on world markets. Prices of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ decreased by 1.4% (machinery specialized for particular industries, electrical machinery and road vehicles in particular). This was the first decrease in this section since May 2003. As for other significant sections, prices of ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ decreased by 1.0%.
- Terms of trade reached the value of 101.6%, which was by 0.3 percentage point less than in July and at the same time it was the lowest value since November 2003. Markedly (by 1.6 percentage point) this value decreased in ‘machinery and transport equipment’ to 100.7%. The highest value of the terms of trade is in ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ since October 2003 already. In August 2004, they reached 112.4%. Positive figures were recorded also for ‘chemicals and related products’ and ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (110.4% and 104.5%, respectively). Negative terms of trade were especially in ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ -93.0% and ‘beverages and tobacco’ -80.9%.
CZSO world price index of raw materials and food 1)
September 2004
Month-on-month comparison:
- The world prices covered by the index increased in total only by 1.5% in September i.e. by 3.8 percentage points less than in August. The main cause was a rather low increase of petroleum Brent by 2.0% (by 8.9% percentage points less than in August). Petroleum prices were decreasing in the beginning of the month; they increased markedly in the end of September. Prices of natural gas increased by 1.6%. Prices of metals and food slightly increased, prices of wood and leather decreased.
Year-on-year comparison:
In August, the world prices were 28.1% up in total and thus they increased their growth already the third month. It was caused again by the price development of the two most significant commodities measured - petroleum Brent and natural gas. Their prices increased in September y-o-y by +34.3% in total, i.e. by 8.7 percentage points more than in August. This development was mainly influenced by the decreasing of oil prices in September 2003 due to an increase of the stock of petroleum products and natural gas at that time in the USA. Prices of metals increased y-o-y by 29.9% in total. Prices of wood, rubber and food increased, too. Only prices of textile raw materials and leathers decreased.
1) The world prices follow actual prices in terms of original currencies read at commodity exchanges and indicate in advance the nature of the future development of Czech import and export prices of industrial raw materials and food.
Note
Contact: Jiří Choun, tel. (+420) 27405 2196, e-mail: choun@gw.czso.cz
Data source: CZSO survey
End of data collection: Last calendar day of the month
End of data processing: Import and export price indices: 40th calendar day following the end of reference month
CZSO world price indices: 10th calendar day following the end of reference month
Related publications: 7201-04 Import and Export Price Indices in the Czech Republic
Detailed on (Internet: http://www.czso.cz/eng/edicniplan.nsf/p/7201-04 )
7202-04 CZSO World Price Indices of Industrial Raw Materials and Food
The released data are definitive.