Export and import price indices - January 2008

In January 2008, export prices increased by 0.2% and import prices decreased by 0.6%, month-on-month. Year-on-year, export prices fell by 2.6% and import prices by 1.6%. The terms of trade figures reached 100,8%, m-o-m, and 99.0%, y-o-y.
Month-on-month comparison:

- Exports : export prices reversed their trend after a six month drop increasing slightly by 0.2% despite the appreciation of the koruna. The growth of the total m-o-m export price index came mainly from a 10.5% increase in prices of 'mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials' (particularly coal, coke and briquettes and electric current). Among sections important in terms of weight, increases were recorded in ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ by 3.4% (especially metalliferous ores and metal scrap) and 'manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ by 0.6%. On the contrary, a drop was registered for prices of 'machinery and transport equipment’ by 0.8%, which contributed most to the decrease the export price growth. Price drops were recorded for ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ and ‘chemicals and related products’ (-0.4% and -0.2 %, respectively).

- Imports: import prices decreased for the seventh month in a row, in January by 0.6%, which was led mainly by the appreciation of the koruna. The decrease of the total m-o-m import price index was driven mainly by a 1.3% fall in prices of 'machinery and transport equipment’ (especially machinery specialized for particular industries). Among sections important in terms of weight, the price cuts were recorded in ‘food and live animals’ by 0.7% (especially vegetables and fruit) and ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ by 0.5%. The growth of prices was registered only for prices of ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ by 0.1%, ‘chemicals and related products’ by 0.3% and ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ by 0.6% (mainly crude fertilizers).

- The terms of trade figure stood at 100.8% in January (99.3% in November) and got out of negative values after three months. Positive terms of trade figures were registered for all sections except ‘chemicals and related products’ (99.5%). Among sections important in terms of weight, the highest terms of trade figures were recorded in ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ (110.4%), ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ (102.8%) and 'manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (100.6%).

Year-on-year comparison:

- Exports: export prices decreased by 2.6% in January (by 2.1% in December) and dropped for the third month in a row. The underlying reason was the appreciation of the koruna. The biggest price decreases were registered in ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ by 5.2% (particularly articles of apparel and clothing accessories), ‘machinery and transport equipment’ by 4.9% (especially general industrial machinery and equipment) and ‘chemicals and related products’ by 3.8%. In contrast, the highest growth of prices among important sections were recorded for ‘food and live animals’ by 12.7% (mainly cereals and cereal preparations) and ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ by 18.0% (particularly coal, coke and briquettes and electric current).

- Imports: import prices decreased for the sixth successive month, this time by 1.6% (by 1.3% in December), mainly due to the appreciation of the koruna. The drop of the total y-o-y import price index was mainly affected by a 5.7% price decrease in 'machinery and transport equipment' (especially office machines and automatic data-processing machines). Considerable price drops were observed also in 'miscellaneous manufactured articles' by 5.4%, ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ by 4.1% and ‘chemicals and related products' by 2.1%. Prices in other sections increased, more significantly in ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials' by 20.7%, (mainly petroleum, petroleum products and related materials), ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ by 4.5% (particularly metalliferous ores and metal scrap) and ‘food and live animals’ by 3.2% (especially dairy products).

- The terms of trade figure stood at 99.0% in January (99.2% in December) remaining below 100% for the second month in a row although they have been falling since July 2007. The lowest terms of trade figures were recorded for ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ (96.0%), ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials' (97.8%) and ‘chemicals and related products’ (98.3%). Terms of trade value reached positive figures in the rest of sections, among important sections, for ‘food and live animals’ (109.2%), ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (102.7%) and 'machinery and transport equipment' (100.8%).
Month-on-month comparison:

- The world prices of industrial raw materials and food covered by the index increased by 3.4% in February (5.5% in January). The main reasons were increases in Brent oil and natural gas prices by 2.5% in total (5.7% in January). A significant growth was again recorded for prices of metals by 10.9% and food by 10.4%. Prices of the other commodities increased too, expect prices of leather, which slightly decreased.

Year-on-year comparison:

- In February, the world prices increased by 39.6% (39.3% in January) and reached above a thirty-percent growth for the second month in a row. The main and long-lasting reason was again the increase in Brent oil prices by 60.6%. A high growth was noticed in food prices by 41.2%. On the contrary, prices of leather and wood decreased.

1) The world prices follow current prices in original currencies in commodity markets and indicate in advance the character of the future development of the Czech import and export prices of industrial raw materials and food.

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Note
Contact: Vladimír Klimeš, phone (+420) 274 054 102, e-mail: vladimir.klimes@csu.gov.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: 7201-08 Import and Export Price Indices in the Czech Republic
Detailed (Internet: /produkty/export-and-import-price-indices-in-the-czech-republic-december-zn0n03jaf2 )
7202-08 CZSO World Price Indices of Industrial Raw Materials and Food
Detailed (Internet: /produkty/indexy-csu-svetovych-cen-prumyslovych-surovin-a-potravin-prosinec-z8ictqx7yq )
The data released are final.