19 June 2018

2018- n° 156

In May, the prices of all imported raw materials accelerated Prices of oil and raw material imports - May 2018

In May 2018, the price of crude oil in euros ramped up again (+10.9% after +9.8% in April). The prices in euros of all other imported commodities accelerated too (+5.5% after +0.3%): both as a result of raw food materials prices (+5.7% after +0.1%) and because of industrial raw materials prices (+5.4% after +0.6%).

In May 2018, the price of North Sea crude oil (Brent) in euros ramped up again (+10.9% after +9.8%) to an average of €65 per barrel. The decrease was less marked in dollars (+6.8% after +9.0%), because the euro depreciated in May

In euros, the prices of raw food materials ramped up frankly (+5.7% after +0.1%). The prices of cereals accelerated clearly (+6.1% after +3.5%) as those of tropical foodstuffs (+4.4% after +2.3%), and seafood products (+7.7% after +1.2%). The prices of oil seeds and vegetable oils recovered (+2.2% after −0.4%), and those of meats bounced back (+8.1% after −3.5%) as sugar price (+4.3% after −7.6% in April).

In May 2018, the prices in euros of industrial raw materials gathered pace clearly (+5.4% after +0.6%). Those of agro-industrial raw materials increased considerably (+9.2% after +2.2%), again because of sawn softwood price (+18.1% after +5.6%) and wood pulp price (+7.4% after +3.0%). The prices of natural fibres speeded up clearly (+8.0% after +0.4%), while natural rubber price recovered (+8.0% after −3.8%). The price of tropical wood fell back (−0.5% after +1.2%), and the price of hide decreased less than in April (−0.2% after −2.8%). The prices of minerals accelerated (+4.5% after +0.2%), largely due to non-ferrous metals (+4.6% after +4.5%) and ferrous metals (+4.8% after −5.9%). The prices of precious metals speeded up too (+2.1% after +1.0%).