15 May 2012
2012In April 2012, the prices of the imported commodities folded Prices of oil and raw material imports - April 2012
In April, the price of oil in dollars has declined (-3.1% after +5.3% in March). It stood at $120.7 per barrel Brent. Simi-larly, the prices in foreign currency of non-energy commodi-ties imported into France were down (-1.3% after +0.5% in March).
In April, the price of oil in dollars has declined (-3.1% after +5.3% in March). It stood at $120.7 per barrel Brent. Similarly, the prices in foreign currency of non-energy commodities imported into France were down (-1.3% after +0.5% in March).
The prices of oil in dollars declined
In April, the dollar price of oil from the North Sea (Brent) fell (-3.1% after +5.3% in March). In euros, the decline in oil prices has been slightly less marked (-2.7 % after +5.5 %), due to the depreciation of the euro against the dollar (-0.4%). This decline comes after a sustained and continuing rise in oil prices since January.
The lower prices of industrial raw material were increasing
In April, the prices of industrial raw materials in foreign currencies continued to fall (-2.0% after –0.7% in March). On the one hand, the decline in the prices of mineral raw materials has increased (-2.6% after –1.6%). The prices of nonferrous metals declined sharply (-4.0% after –1.8%), including those of aluminium (-6.3%), nickel (-4.3%) and copper (-2.3%). Meanwhile, the prices of precious metals fell again (-2.9% after –3.2%), mainly those of gold (-1.4%) and silver (-4.3%).
On the other hand, the prices of agro-industrial raw materials fell slightly (-0.2% after +2.1%), due to the lower prices of nature rubber (-1.8%), and the prices of natural textile fibers (-0.3%), includind wool (-5.7%). The prices of sawn wood of conifers have them stabilized (+0.0% after +6.3%), while those of wood pulp have appreciated slightly (+0.3% after +0.0%).
The prices of raw food materials stabilized
In April, the prices of raw food materials in foreign currencies stagnated (+0.0% after +2.8% in March). Indeed, the cereals prices have stabilized (+0.1% after +4.1%), due to the slowdown in rice prices (+1.5% after +5.4%) and lower corn prices (-2.6%). Meanwhile, the tropical foodstuffs prices continued to fall (-3.5% after -2.1%), including cocoa (-4.6%) and arabica (-4.%)
The prices of sugar (-7.1%) and beef meat (-4.2%) also fell. In contrast, the prices of oilseeds continuied to grow, albeit at a lower pace than in March (+5.8% after +7.4%). This is particularly the case of soybean meal (+7.7% after +10.8%) and palm oil (+4.9% after +5.3%).
tableautabpetrole – Oil and petroleum products
| Prices | Change (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| of last month | over the last month | over the last 3 months | over the last 12 months | |
| Brent in $ per barrel | 120.7 | –3.1 | 8.2 | –2.4 |
| Brent in € per barrel | 91.7 | –2.7 | 6.0 | 7.2 |
| Gasoline | 1164.3 | 0.6 | 19.4 | 2.1 |
| Gas Oil | 1004.8 | –2.0 | 5.7 | –1.8 |
| Heavy fuel | 678.8 | –2.5 | 3.5 | 7.5 |
| Naphta | 1035.2 | –2.9 | 9.5 | –1.8 |
- Prices are in dollars per tonne unless otherwise specified
- Source: INSEE
tableautabmatprem – Imported raw materials (excluding energy)in domestic currency
| Index | Changes (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| over the last month | over the last 3 months | over the last 12 months | ||
| Food total | 233.4 | 0.0 | 5.4 | –6.3 |
| Tropical foodstuff | 225.0 | –3.5 | –5.6 | –25.4 |
| Oil seeds, vegetable oils | 234.8 | 5.8 | 18.1 | 7.7 |
| Cereals | 300.7 | 0.1 | 5.6 | 1.4 |
| Sugar | 282.1 | –7.1 | –4.4 | –9.6 |
| Beef meat | 166.7 | –4.2 | 2.0 | –1.0 |
| Industrial raw materials | 231.4 | –2.0 | 0.2 | –17.7 |
| Agricultural raw materials | 148,0 | –0.2 | 4.2 | –13.2 |
| Natural Fibers | 207.0 | –0.3 | –1.3 | –49.3 |
| Natural rubber | 452.3 | –1.8 | 4.2 | –25.1 |
| Hides | 105.3 | 1.1 | 17.2 | –4.4 |
| Wood pulp | 124.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | –15.2 |
| Tropical wood | 149.6 | 1.1 | 2.2 | –5.3 |
| Sawn softwood | 109.0 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 6.7 |
| Minerals | 276.0 | –2.6 | –1.1 | –19.2 |
| Iron ore | 502.7 | 3.1 | 3.1 | –19.3 |
| Non-ferrous metals | 240.9 | –4.0 | –2.4 | –20.3 |
| Precious metals | 427.5 | –2.9 | 1.3 | –9.4 |
| All commodities | 225.9 | –1.3 | 2.0 | –14.0 |
- Source: INSEE
graphiqueG_petrole_ang – Oil
- Source: INSEE
graphiqueG_alim_ang – Food
- Source: INSEE
graphiqueG_ensemble_ang – All commodities
- Source: INSEE
graphiqueG_indus_ang – Industrial raw materials
- Source: INSEE
Pour en savoir plus
Time series : Raw materials prices
