Slovakia’s industrial producer prices moved lower on annual basis for the eight straight month in October 2013 declining by 2.1%, deeper than a 1.9% fall in September, data from the statistics office showed. This was the steepest annual decline in producer prices registered since March 2010.

Industrial producer prices on the domestic market decreased by 1.4% y/y in October, following a 0.8% y/y decline the month before. The biggest drop was recorded in the manufacturing of coke and refined petroleum products, where prices fell 11.7% y/y, following a 9.4% drop in September.

Export producer prices fell 2.6% in October, the same as in September.

Producer prices are a key preliminary indicator for the dynamics in consumer prices, so the data suggests that consumer inflation would remain muted in the near term. In October, Slovakia’s annual headline inflation eased to 0.6% from 1% the month before.

On a monthly basis, producer prices edged down by 0.3% in October after a 0.1% hike in September. On the domestic market, prices were also 0.3% lower than in September when they ticked higher by 0.2% m/m. Export prices also moved down by 0.3% m/m in October after remaining unchanged a month earlier.

Agricultural producer prices decreased by 9.8% y/y in October following a 10.9% y/y decline the month before. Crop prices went down by 13.8% y/y, compared to a 15.8% y/y decline in September. The prices of animal products fell 0.3% y/y last month following a 0.8% y/y decline in September.

Prices of construction works rose 0.4% y/y in October, while prices of construction materials and components dipped 2.7% y/y.