U.K. MARCH PRODUCER PRICES RISE 0.3 PCT
The price index for sales of
manufactured goods in the U.K. Rose a provisional, unadjusted
0.3 pct in March after an identical rise in February,
Department of Trade and Industry figures show.
    The index for materials and fuel purchased by manufacturing
industry fell a provisional and unadjusted 1.1 pct after a 1.7
pct fall in February.
    The Department said the year-on-year rise in producer
prices in March was a provisional 3.7 pct, compared with a
provisional 4.2 pct increase in the year to end-February.
    The index for output prices, non-seasonally adjusted, was
put at a provisional 149.7 in March after 149.3 in February.
    The index for input prices, also not seasonally adjusted,
was set at 128.2 in March after February's 129.6.
    The 1.1 pct fall in input prices between February and March
was mainly due to a seasonal fall in industrial electricity
costs and lower scheduled prices for petroleum products, the
Department said.
    The Department said these falls were only partly offset by
a rise in prices of home-produced food manufacturing materials.
    The seasonally adjusted index for input prices showed a 0.2
pct rise between February and March.
    Year-on-year, the input price index was down 0.7 pct in
March after a 2.8 pct drop in February.
 REUTER
