20 November 2018
2018- n° 301In October, oil price eased and imported commodities prices bounced back Prices of oil and raw material imports - October 2018
In October 2018, the increase in crude oil price in euros was less bright than in september (+4.3% after +7.8%). The prices in euros of imported commodities (excluding energy) bounced back (+4.9% after −2.5%) as well as the prices of industrial raw materials (+3.8% after −1.8%) and those of raw food materials (+6.2% after −3.3%).
Warning: Some data sets used up to now to compute the imported raw materials indices (excluding energy) are not published anymore by the World Bank, the main source for this data. This applies to sheep, rapeseed oil, and sunflower oil quotations. It has been replaced by similar data sets. Indices of oil seeds, meat, food, and all commodities may vary from previous issues.
In October 2018, the increase in crude oil price in euros was less bright than in september (+4.3% after +7.8%). The prices in euros of imported commodities (excluding energy) bounced back (+4.9% after −2.5%) as well as the prices of industrial raw materials (+3.8% after −1.8%) and those of raw food materials (+6.2% after −3.3%).
Oil price decelerated
In October 2018, the price of North Sea crude oil (Brent) in euros eased (+4.3% after +7.8% in September) to an average of €71 per barrel. In dollars, the decrease was more marked (+2.7% after +8.8% ), because the euro depreciated in October.
tableauTable1 – 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 | 81.0 | 2.7 | 9.1 | 40.7 |
| Brent in € per barrel | 70.6 | 4.3 | 11.0 | 44.0 |
| Gasoline cts €/L | 46.7 | –1.6 | –0.5 | 21.0 |
| Gas Oil | 628.7 | 5.9 | 11.9 | 38.6 |
| Heavy fuel | 430.2 | 9.5 | 9.8 | 45.5 |
| Naphtha | 589.9 | 2.1 | 7.4 | 35,2 |
- Prices are in euros per tonne unless otherwise specified
- Source : INSEE
Industrial commodity prices recovered
In October 2018, the prices in euros of industrial raw materials recovered (+3.8% after −1.8% in september). The prices of minerals bounced back (+5.5% after −1.3%), largely due to ferrous metals (+8.4% after +0.7%). The prices of precious metals bounced back too (+3.5% after −1.9%)as those of non-ferrous metals (+3.5% after −1.9%). However, the prices of agro-industrial raw materials kept retreating (−3.6% after −4.0%), mainly because of sawn softwood (−21.0% after −12.3%). The prices of natural fibres decreased again (−1.7% after −3.8%). The price of wood pulp recovered (+1.4% after −1.2%) as well as hide price (+0.2% after −2.2%) and natural rubber price (+0.8% after −1.8%) The increase in tropical wood price accelerated (+1.2% after +0.4%).
Food commodity prices bounced back strongly
In euros, the prices of raw food materials bounced back strongly (+6.2% after −3.3%) largely due to the price of sugar (+24.5% after +1.8%). After the decrease at the beginning of the year, the surge comes from a drop in output in Europe (bad weather conditions) and in Brazil (competition with ethanol production). The prices of meats increased (+10.1% after −4.6%), as those of tropical foodstuffs (+8.4% after −2.9%), seafood products (+4.4% after −3.3%) and cereals (+4.0% after −3.3. The prices of oil seeds and vegetable oils recovered (+0.6% after −2.9%).
tableauTable2 – Imported raw materials (excluding energy) in euros
| Index | Changes (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| of last month | over the last month | over the last 3 months | over the last 12 months | |
| Food total | 117.3 | 6.2 | –1.1 | 0.4 |
| Tropical foodstuffs | 95.3 | 8.4 | 0.0 | –4.4 |
| Oil seeds. vegetable oils | 101.8 | 0.6 | –3.1 | –8.8 |
| Cereals | 98.7 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 9.5 |
| Sugar | 68.6 | 24.5 | 20.3 | –5.2 |
| Meat | 141.5 | 10.1 | –8.1 | 10.3 |
| Seafood products | 125.2 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| Industrial raw materials | 89.3 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 4.6 |
| Agricultural raw materials | 119.1 | –3.6 | –10.4 | 7.9 |
| Natural Fibres | 107.4 | –1.7 | –5.6 | 18.2 |
| Natural rubber | 45.8 | 0.8 | 1.9 | –6.0 |
| Hides | 70.2 | 0.2 | –4.1 | –8.8 |
| Wood pulp | 152.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 36.9 |
| Tropical wood | 96.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Sawn softwood | 146.0 | –21.0 | –41.9 | –26.0 |
| Minerals | 83.5 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 3.9 |
| Ferrous metals | 60.1 | 8.4 | 14.9 | 21.9 |
| Non-ferrous metals | 102.4 | 3.6 | –1.1 | –4.6 |
| Precious metals | 101.7 | 3.5 | –0.7 | –5.0 |
| All commodities | 101.8 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 2,5 |
- Source : INSEE
graphiqueGraph1 – Oil (Brent)
- Source : INSEE
graphiqueGraph3 – Food
- Source : INSEE
graphiqueGraph2 – Imported raw materials (excluding energy)
- Source : INSEE
graphiqueGraph4 – Industrial raw materials
- Source : INSEE
Pour en savoir plus
Time series : Raw materials prices
