Wholesale electricity prices decreased by 16.2 per cent in the month to May 2023 and were 26.6 per cent lower in May 2023 when compared with May 2022.
Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 5.3 per cent higher in May 2023 compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods fell by 1.4 per cent.
Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 1.1 per cent lower in the year.
Producer prices for food products fell by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to May 2023, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco index fell by 1.8 per cent.
Some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products were: Fruit & Vegetables (+17.4 per cent), Fish & Fish Products (+13.9 per cent), Grain, Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds (+3.9 per cent), Bakery & Farinaceous Products (+3.3 per cent), Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats (-9.3 per cent), and Dairy Products (-8.8 per cent).
The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year were: Beverages (+10.5 per cent), Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products (such as glass, ceramics, cement, concrete and stone) (+8.9 per cent), Wearing Apparel (+8.8 per cent), Fabricated Metal Products (except Machinery & Equipment) (+5.6 per cent), Basic Metals (-10.8 per cent), and Wood & Wood Products (-7.6 per cent).
Wholesale prices for construction products were down by 0.8 per cent in the month but rose by 9.1 per cent in the 12 months since May 2022.
Commenting on the release, Jillian Delaney, statistician in the Prices Division, said: ''Wholesale price inflation continued to show signs of levelling off in May 2023 with no change to the overall producer price index for the manufacturing industries in the month.
"The price index for export sales rose by 0.1 per cent since April 2023, while the index for home sales fell by 0.9 per cent in the month. Producer prices for products sold on the domestic market are now 5.3 per cent higher than they were in May 2022, with export producer prices falling by 1.4 per cent and overall producer prices falling by 1.1 per cent in the year.
"Producer prices in the Food Products index dropped by 0.7 per cent in the month and this overall index was 2.4 per cent lower than in May 2022.
"Prices for some food products fell in the month, for example Dairy Products (-7.3 per cent) and Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats (-5.1 per cent)."
Notable annual increases and decreases in construction products as shown include:
Plaster: 35.5 per cent
Structural Steel Fabricated Metal: 32.0 per cent
Ready Mixed Mortar & Concrete: 26.1 per cent
Cement: 24.0 per cent
Other Treated Timber: -31.2 per cent
Other Structural Steel: -30.5 per cent
The Building and Construction Index (i.e. Materials and Wages) dropped by 0.4 per cent in the month but rose by 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to May 2023.
