Insee
Informations Rapides · 23 February 2021 · n° 042
Informations rapidesIn January 2021, the price of oil keep accelerating Prices of oil and raw material imports - January 2021

In January 2021, the prices of oil in euros increased again (+9.6% after +13.9% in December). The prices in euros of imported commodities (excluding energy) eased (+2.8% after +2.2%), because industrial raw materials (+2.7% after +6.9%). On the contrary, the prices of raw food materials recovered (+3.0% after −1.5 %).

Informations rapides
No 042
Paru le :Paru le23/02/2021
Prochaine parution le : 20/06/2025 at 12:00 - May 2025
Warning :

Weights of each raw material has been updated in this publication, according to their share in 2021 french importation.

In January 2021, the prices of oil in euros increased again (+9.6% after +13.9% in December). The prices in euros of imported commodities (excluding energy) eased (+2.8% after +2.2%), because industrial raw materials (+2.7% after +6.9%). On the contrary, the prices of raw food materials recovered (+3.0% after −1.5 %).

Imported raw materials (excluding energy)

index 2000=100
Imported raw materials (excluding energy) (index 2000=100)
Prices in foreign currencies Prices in euros
2013-01 106.6 106.6
2013-02 107.9 107.3
2013-03 104.8 107.1
2013-04 103.7 105.6
2013-05 102.4 104.5
2013-06 99.9 100.5
2013-07 102.1 103.4
2013-08 102.8 102.5
2013-09 100.0 99.5
2013-10 100.4 98.0
2013-11 100.9 99.4
2013-12 103.5 100.7
2014-01 102.8 100.4
2014-02 103.2 100.5
2014-03 104.8 100.9
2014-04 106.5 102.7
2014-05 103.3 100.1
2014-06 101.0 98.8
2014-07 103.0 101.1
2014-08 101.8 101.5
2014-09 98.0 100.7
2014-10 96.2 100.4
2014-11 95.7 101.3
2014-12 93.3 99.7
2015-01 89.6 101.1
2015-02 86.8 100.2
2015-03 83.9 101.4
2015-04 82.6 100.4
2015-05 84.1 98.7
2015-06 83.3 97.4
2015-07 80.4 95.7
2015-08 79.1 92.9
2015-09 78.1 91.0
2015-10 77.4 90.0
2015-11 74.4 90.3
2015-12 72.9 87.4
2016-01 72.3 87.1
2016-02 74.3 87.6
2016-03 77.7 91.6
2016-04 80.4 92.8
2016-05 80.1 92.5
2016-06 82.1 95.6
2016-07 84.4 99.8
2016-08 84.1 98.1
2016-09 83.0 96.8
2016-10 83.7 99.3
2016-11 89.2 107.8
2016-12 90.3 111.7
2017-01 92.1 113.3
2017-02 95.1 116.7
2017-03 94.5 115.5
2017-04 90.0 109.6
2017-05 89.0 105.3
2017-06 88.6 103.2
2017-07 91.8 104.2
2017-08 93.0 103.0
2017-09 91.3 100.1
2017-10 89.5 99.5
2017-11 90.2 100.6
2017-12 90.5 100.0
2018-01 93.5 100.3
2018-02 95.0 100.7
2018-03 94.1 99.9
2018-04 93.9 100.2
2018-05 95.3 105.5
2018-06 95.0 106.4
2018-07 90.7 101.5
2018-08 87.9 99.5
2018-09 86.6 97.1
2018-10 89.7 101.9
2018-11 88.8 101.9
2018-12 86.9 99.5
2019-01 88.8 101.4
2019-02 91.3 105.3
2019-03 90.8 104.7
2019-04 92.9 107.9
2019-05 92.0 107.0
2019-06 94.1 108.6
2019-07 95.9 111.5
2019-08 89.1 104.5
2019-09 88.5 104.9
2019-10 88.1 103.9
2019-11 88.8 104.7
2019-12 91.5 107.4
2020-01 91.9 108.3
2020-02 90.1 107.7
2020-03 87.8 103.4
2020-04 84.4 101.8
2020-05 87.6 104.9
2020-06 87.5 101.3
2020-07 89.1 101.3
2020-08 93.4 103.0
2020-09 95.3 105.3
2020-10 96.2 106.5
2020-11 98.6 108.7
2020-12 103.7 111.1
2021-01 106.6 114.3

Imported raw materials (excluding energy)

  • Source: INSEE

Oil prices increased again

In January 2021, the prices of North Sea crude oil (Brent) in euros increased again (+9.6% after +13.9%) to an average of €45 per barrel. The increase in dollars was the same magnitude (+9.6% after +17.1%).

Oil (Brent)

price per barrel
Oil (Brent) (price per barrel)
Prices in dollars Prices in euros
2013-01 112.0 84.3
2013-02 116.4 87.1
2013-03 109.7 84.6
2013-04 103.8 79.5
2013-05 103.0 79.4
2013-06 102.8 78.0
2013-07 107.7 82.3
2013-08 110.1 82.8
2013-09 111.6 83.6
2013-10 109.4 80.2
2013-11 107.7 79.9
2013-12 110.7 80.7
2014-01 107.6 79.0
2014-02 108.7 79.6
2014-03 107.9 78.0
2014-04 108.0 78.1
2014-05 109.2 79.6
2014-06 111.9 82.3
2014-07 108.6 80.2
2014-08 103.5 77.7
2014-09 98.9 76.7
2014-10 88.7 70.0
2014-11 80.8 64.8
2014-12 64.2 52.2
2015-01 50.1 43.1
2015-02 58.2 51.3
2015-03 57.3 52.8
2015-04 59.5 55.4
2015-05 64.1 57.5
2015-06 61.5 54.8
2015-07 56.6 51.4
2015-08 46.6 41.9
2015-09 47.6 42.4
2015-10 48.4 43.1
2015-11 44.3 41.2
2015-12 38.0 35.0
2016-01 30.7 28.3
2016-02 32.2 29.0
2016-03 38.2 34.4
2016-04 41.6 36.7
2016-05 46.7 41.3
2016-06 48.2 43.0
2016-07 45.3 41.0
2016-08 46.8 41.8
2016-09 47.7 42.5
2016-10 51.4 46.6
2016-11 47.1 43.7
2016-12 54.9 52.1
2017-01 55.4 52.2
2017-02 56.0 52.6
2017-03 52.6 49.2
2017-04 53.8 50.1
2017-05 51.4 46.5
2017-06 47.6 42.4
2017-07 49.1 42.6
2017-08 51.9 44.0
2017-09 55.5 46.6
2017-10 57.5 48.9
2017-11 62.7 53.4
2017-12 64.4 54.4
2018-01 69.1 56.6
2018-02 65.3 52.9
2018-03 66.0 53.5
2018-04 72.0 58.7
2018-05 76.9 65.2
2018-06 74.4 63.7
2018-07 74.3 63.5
2018-08 72.5 62.8
2018-09 78.9 67.7
2018-10 81.0 70.6
2018-11 64.7 57.0
2018-12 56.5 49.8
2019-01 59.4 52.0
2019-02 64.0 56.4
2019-03 66.1 58.5
2019-04 71.2 63.4
2019-05 71.2 63.6
2019-06 64.3 56.9
2019-07 63.9 57.0
2019-08 59.0 53.1
2019-09 62.8 57.1
2019-10 59.7 54.0
2019-11 63.2 57.2
2019-12 67.2 60.4
2020-01 63.6 57.3
2020-02 55.7 51.1
2020-03 31.9 28.8
2020-04 18.5 16.9
2020-05 29.4 27.5
2020-06 40.3 35.8
2020-07 43.2 37.7
2020-08 44.8 37.8
2020-09 40.9 34.7
2020-10 40.2 34.1
2020-11 42.7 36.1
2020-12 50.0 41.1
2021-01 54.8 45.0

Oil (Brent)

  • Source: INSEE

Petroleum

Petroleum
prices Changes (%)
of last month over the last month over the last 3 months over the last 12 months
Brent in $ per barrel 54,8 9,6 36,3 -13,9
Brent in € per barrel 45 9,6 31,9 -21,5
Gasoline cts €/$ 33,9 15 25,8 -14
Gas Oil 368,3 8,7 30,8 -28
Heavy fuel 260,5 11,8 27,4 15,8
Naphtha 405,6 16,8 25,4 -15,7
  • Prices are in euros per tonne unless otherwise specified

Industrial commodity prices eased

In January 2020, the prices of industrial raw materials eased (+2.7% after +6.9%) like those of mineral materials (+3.5% after +10.7%). The prices of ferrous metals eased too (+9.9% after +21.4%), like those of non ferrous metals (+0.3% after +3.3%). However, those of precious metals recovered (+1.6% after −1.6%). The prices of agricultural raw materials bounced back (+0.9% after −1.3%), as those of natural rubber (+0.4% after −2.0%) and tropical woods (+1.5% after −1.0%). However, the prices of natural textile fibres accelerated (+6.2% after +0.7%), and the price of hide eased (+0.6% after +5.7%). The prices of sawn softwood and pulp were stable in January ( after −2.7% in December in both cases).

Industrial raw materials

index 2000=100
Industrial raw materials (index 2000=100)
Prices in foreign currencies Prices in euros
2013-01 103.0 103.0
2013-02 104.8 104.0
2013-03 98.5 100.8
2013-04 95.3 97.1
2013-05 90.4 92.4
2013-06 86.5 87.0
2013-07 89.0 90.2
2013-08 93.3 92.9
2013-09 92.1 91.5
2013-10 92.5 90.0
2013-11 93.3 91.6
2013-12 93.3 90.2
2014-01 91.5 89.0
2014-02 89.2 86.5
2014-03 86.7 83.0
2014-04 88.4 84.7
2014-05 85.1 82.2
2014-06 83.6 81.4
2014-07 86.8 84.9
2014-08 86.5 86.0
2014-09 82.8 85.0
2014-10 80.7 84.3
2014-11 79.5 84.3
2014-12 76.3 81.8
2015-01 72.3 82.2
2015-02 70.0 81.5
2015-03 67.6 82.4
2015-04 66.0 80.9
2015-05 69.1 81.7
2015-06 67.7 79.7
2015-07 62.5 74.9
2015-08 61.1 72.2
2015-09 61.4 72.0
2015-10 59.9 70.2
2015-11 55.8 68.3
2015-12 53.7 64.9
2016-01 53.1 64.3
2016-02 55.9 66.3
2016-03 60.4 71.7
2016-04 62.7 72.9
2016-05 60.8 70.8
2016-06 60.2 70.6
2016-07 63.6 75.7
2016-08 65.0 76.4
2016-09 63.2 74.3
2016-10 64.4 76.9
2016-11 71.7 87.4
2016-12 74.9 93.3
2017-01 75.2 93.1
2017-02 80.2 99.0
2017-03 79.4 97.8
2017-04 74.0 90.8
2017-05 70.5 84.0
2017-06 68.6 80.4
2017-07 73.1 83.6
2017-08 78.3 87.4
2017-09 78.5 86.8
2017-10 76.5 85.7
2017-11 77.8 87.3
2017-12 79.9 89.0
2018-01 84.0 90.8
2018-02 84.8 90.5
2018-03 81.0 86.5
2018-04 81.1 87.1
2018-05 82.3 91.8
2018-06 81.9 92.4
2018-07 77.8 87.8
2018-08 76.8 87.6
2018-09 76.2 86.1
2018-10 77.9 89.3
2018-11 76.7 88.9
2018-12 74.8 86.5
2019-01 76.7 88.5
2019-02 82.3 95.5
2019-03 81.8 95.3
2019-04 83.6 97.9
2019-05 83.5 98.2
2019-06 86.0 100.3
2019-07 90.2 105.9
2019-08 79.9 94.5
2019-09 80.5 96.3
2019-10 78.5 93.6
2019-11 77.3 92.0
2019-12 80.0 94.8
2020-01 81.0 96.1
2020-02 77.2 93.1
2020-03 74.7 88.8
2020-04 71.2 87.2
2020-05 73.4 88.6
2020-06 77.8 91.0
2020-07 81.5 93.5
2020-08 87.8 97.7
2020-09 89.0 99.4
2020-10 89.3 99.9
2020-11 93.2 103.7
2020-12 102.4 110.9
2021-01 105.1 113.9

Industrial raw materials

  • Source: INSEE

Food commodity prices recovered

In euros, the prices of imported raw food materials recovered (+3.0% after −1.5% in December). In fact, the prices of sugar bounced back (+8.6% after −4.4%), as those of those of meats (+8.3% after −3.9%). The prices of oil seeds and vegetable accelerated (+4.9% after +0.5%), those of cereals too (+10.7% after +2.5%). The prices of tropical foodstuffs fell back ( −1.0% after +0.8%) and those of seafood products decreased again (−1.1% after −4.2%).

Food

index 2000=100
Food (index 2000=100)
Prices in foreign currencies Prices in euros
2013-01 111.4 111.5
2013-02 112.2 111.8
2013-03 112.9 115.2
2013-04 114.5 116.4
2013-05 117.7 120.0
2013-06 117.0 117.8
2013-07 118.6 120.2
2013-08 114.8 114.8
2013-09 110.2 109.8
2013-10 110.6 108.3
2013-11 110.6 109.4
2013-12 116.5 114.1
2014-01 117.0 114.8
2014-02 120.6 118.0
2014-03 127.3 123.3
2014-04 129.2 125.2
2014-05 125.9 122.4
2014-06 122.7 120.4
2014-07 123.1 121.3
2014-08 121.0 120.9
2014-09 117.1 120.2
2014-10 115.6 120.6
2014-11 115.8 122.4
2014-12 114.4 122.0
2015-01 111.4 125.0
2015-02 108.1 123.8
2015-03 104.6 125.5
2015-04 103.6 125.1
2015-05 102.9 120.1
2015-06 102.9 119.7
2015-07 103.4 122.3
2015-08 102.3 119.5
2015-09 99.4 115.3
2015-10 99.7 115.4
2015-11 98.3 118.6
2015-12 97.7 116.6
2016-01 97.6 116.9
2016-02 98.3 115.2
2016-03 99.9 117.0
2016-04 103.1 118.2
2016-05 105.1 120.5
2016-06 111.1 128.5
2016-07 111.5 131.1
2016-08 108.8 125.9
2016-09 108.7 125.9
2016-10 108.8 128.2
2016-11 111.3 133.5
2016-12 109.1 134.3
2017-01 113.5 139.0
2017-02 113.8 138.9
2017-03 113.3 137.9
2017-04 110.3 133.6
2017-05 112.7 132.6
2017-06 114.5 132.6
2017-07 115.7 130.6
2017-08 111.4 122.7
2017-09 107.1 116.7
2017-10 105.7 116.8
2017-11 105.7 117.0
2017-12 103.4 113.5
2018-01 104.8 111.8
2018-02 107.2 113.0
2018-03 110.5 116.5
2018-04 109.8 116.3
2018-05 111.5 122.5
2018-06 111.1 123.6
2018-07 106.6 118.5
2018-08 101.4 114.1
2018-09 99.2 110.5
2018-10 104.3 117.3
2018-11 103.8 118.0
2018-12 101.9 115.5
2019-01 103.8 117.4
2019-02 102.1 117.2
2019-03 101.6 116.1
2019-04 104.0 119.9
2019-05 102.2 117.5
2019-06 103.6 118.5
2019-07 102.1 117.7
2019-08 100.2 116.5
2019-09 98.1 115.2
2019-10 99.5 116.5
2019-11 102.9 120.3
2019-12 105.6 122.8
2020-01 104.5 122.4
2020-02 104.6 124.0
2020-03 102.3 119.5
2020-04 98.9 117.9
2020-05 103.3 122.6
2020-06 98.8 113.5
2020-07 98.6 111.2
2020-08 101.3 110.7
2020-09 103.8 113.7
2020-10 105.3 115.6
2020-11 106.4 116.3
2020-12 107.8 114.5
2021-01 111.1 118.0

Food

  • Source: INSEE

Imported raw materials (excluding energy) in euros

Base 100 in 2010
Imported raw materials (excluding energy) in euros (Base 100 in 2010)
Index of last month changes (in%)
over the last month over the last 3 months over the last 12 months
Food total 118 3 2,1 -3,6
Tropical foodstuffs 93,4 -1 5,1 -7,2
Oil seeds, vegetable oils 123,3 4,9 9,7 15,2
Cereals 125,6 10,7 17,2 15,9
Sugar 78,3 8,6 8 2,5
Meat 139,6 8,3 2,4 -3,5
Seafood products 102,1 -1,1 -11,2 -19,9
Industrial raw materials 113,9 2,7 14 18,5
Agricultural raw materials 95,1 0,9 3,1 -3,9
Natural Fibres 95,4 6,2 7,3 -5,4
Natural rubber 51,5 0,4 0,6 -1,9
Hides 48,3 0,6 10,3 -10
Wood pulp 106,5 0 3,6 1,2
Tropical wood 95,3 1,5 1,7 -4,8
Sawn softwood 141,9 0 -3 -8,8
Minerals 118 3,5 17 24,8
Ferrous metals 129 9,9 37,1 61,1
Non-ferrous metals 103,9 0,3 9,1 7,2
Precious metals 156,5 1,6 -2,1 14,2
All commodities 114,3 2,8 7,3 5,5
  • Source: INSEE

For further information:

The relevant time series and a user guide are available at the bottom of this page.

Crude oil: from 1986, the price of Brent gradually established as a representative reference price of European supplies.

Petroleum products: prices of petroleum are quotations from the Rotterdam market which supplies European market.

Indices of non-energy raw materials imported by France: the indices calculated by INSEE are monthly averages of raw materials prices, weighted by their share in the French imports of raw materials (2010 = 100).

Next issue: 25 March 2021 at 12.00 pm

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